In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey. In the former Soviet Union, the Soviet national team captain had the Cyrillic letter "K" in his jersey.
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According to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and National Hockey League (NHL) rules, the only player allowed to speak with referees about rule interpretations is the captain, or, if the captain is not on the ice, an alternate captain.[1][2]
Although the rules do not specify any other distinction between the captain and his teammates, the captain has numerous responsibilities to the team, particularly in North American professional hockey. The captain is a dressing room leader, and also represents the players' concerns to management.[3] During the game, captains are expected to motivate their teams, particularly captains who are stars or franchise players.
The captain is often considered the primary representative of the team to the public, sometimes is responsible for organizing the team's social functions, and performing ceremonial on-ice functions such as award presentations or ceremonial faceoffs.[3]
The rules of the IIHF, NHL and Hockey Canada do not permit goaltenders to be designated as captains,[1][2] because of the logistical challenge of having the goaltender relay rules discussions between referees and coaches and then return to the crease. (The Vancouver Canucks named goaltender Roberto Luongo as its captain during the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, but due to NHL rules, he did not serve as the official on-ice captain.) In the NCAA, there is no position-based restriction on the team captain.[4]
NHL teams need not designate the same player as captain from game to game, though most teams do. For instance in 1985, when Boston Bruins' captain Terry O'Reilly retired, Ray Bourque and Rick Middleton were named as co-captains of the team. Middleton wore the "C" during home games and Bourque for road games during the season's first half, and the two switched for the second half. This arrangement continued until Middleton retired in 1988 and Bourque became the sole captain. Some teams name two (such as the Buffalo Sabres during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NHL seasons) or three (such as the Vancouver Canucks during the 1990–91 NHL season) captains for a season. Some teams rotate captains rather than keep one for an extended period of time (the Minnesota Wild rotated captaincy every one or two months until the 2009-10 season, when Mikko Koivu was named the first permanent captain since the franchise began). During each NHL game, however, only one player can officially be designated as captain.[2]
Captains are selected by different means: in some instances, teams have held votes among their players to choose a team captain; on other occasions, the choice was made by team management. Captains are often chosen due to their seniority in the game, and years of service with their current club. However, franchise players — current or emerging stars — have also been named captains.[5]
Teams may designate alternate captains, often informally called "assistant captains". Alternate captains wear the letter A on their jerseys in the same manner that team captains wear the C.
In the NHL, teams may appoint two alternate captains if they have a captain, or they may appoint three alternate captains and no captain.[6] This is often the case when a team's captain is injured for only a short amount of time or when a team has not appointed an official captain. International rules stipulate that "each team shall appoint a Captain and no more than two Alternate Captains."[1] In the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and minor leagues under the jurisdiction of Hockey Canada, teams are allowed to have a captain with up to three alternate captains.[7][8][9][10] If the team chooses to not appoint a captain, they are not permitted to appoint a fourth alternate captain. When the captain is off the ice or unavailable for the game, any alternate captain on the ice is responsible for fulfilling the captain's official role as liaison to the referees.
NHL teams may choose alternate captains from game to game or appoint regular alternate captains for the season. In North America, alternate captains perform many of the same leadership and team building roles as the captain. In the 1969-70 NHL season, the Boston Bruins had three alternate captains (Johnny Bucyk, Phil Esposito, and Ed Westfall) instead of a captain sporting the "C". However, as Bucyk was the most senior of the alternate captains, he was first one to be presented the Stanley Cup when the team won the championship in 1970 and 1972.
In the NCAA, a team can designate a single alternate captain to assume the role of captain, should the captain be unavailable due to injury or penalty.[4]
The letter "C" or "A" is sewn on the jersey of the team captain and alternate captains. The designation is traditionally placed on the left side of the jersey, though the IIHF, NHL, and NCAA rules specify only that it must be in a "conspicuous location on the front" of the player's jersey.[1][2][4] Two teams in the NHL have jerseys with the designation on the right side, as the positioning of the crest on the front leaves insufficient space on the left for the letter: the Detroit Red Wings (regular jersey), and the Phoenix Coyotes (third jersey).[11]
Steve Yzerman served as the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for twenty years (1986-87 to 2005-06) and 1303 games during that time, the longest term in the history of the NHL by both years and games. Daniel Alfredsson holds the record as the longest serving European captain -eleven seasons- (1999–2000 to Present).[12] The Boston Bruins' Ray Bourque was previously the longest-tenured captain in NHL history from 1985-86 to 1999–2000, being co-captain for the first three seasons. Brian Bellows was the youngest captain in NHL history, serving as the interim captain of the Minnesota North Stars from January 1984 until May 1984. The youngest permanent NHL captain in history is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who became captain on May 31, 2007 at the age of 19 years, 297 days.[13]
| Name | Team | Birth date | Captaincy announced |
Age at announcement |
First game as captain |
Age at first game |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Bellows | Minnesota North Stars | September 1, 1964 | January 10, 1984† | 19 years, 131 days | Interim | ||
| Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | August 7, 1987 | May 31, 2007[14] | 19 years, 297 days | October 5, 2007[15] | 20 years, 59 days | Permanent |
| Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | April 21, 1980 | March 1, 2000[16] | 19 years, 315 days | March 1, 2000[17] | 19 years, 315 days | Permanent |
| Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | April 29, 1988 | July 18, 2008[18] | 20 years, 80 days | October 10, 2008[19][20][21] | 20 years, 164 days | Permanent |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | May 9, 1965 | October 7, 1986[22] | 21 years, 151 days | October 9, 1986[23] | 21 years, 153 days | Permanent |
| Jim Schoenfeld | Buffalo Sabres | September 4, 1952 | September 1, 1974[24] | 21 years, 362 days | October 14, 1974[25] | 22 years, 40 days | Permanent |
Table Notes:
† An exact date for Brian Bellows' captaincy has not yet been determined. The previous captain, Craig Hartsburg, was injured on January 3, 1984, and Bellows became interim captain shortly thereafter in January 1984.[26]
Charlie Gardiner was the first NHL captain born in Europe to lead his team to a Stanley Cup title (1934), Lars-Erik Sjoberg was the first NHL captain born and trained in Europe. Derian Hatcher became the first American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup in 1999. Daniel Alfredsson was the first European-born and trained captain to lead an NHL team to the Stanley Cup Final, while Nicklas Lidstrom was the first captain born and trained in Europe to lead an NHL team to a Stanley Cup title (2008) followed by Zdeno Chara in (2011). Mark Messier was the first NHL player to win the Stanley Cup as captain of two different teams: the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 and the New York Rangers in 1994. Sidney Crosby, the youngest permanent captain in NHL history, also became the youngest captain to win the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009.
Dirk Graham became the first NHL captain of African descent when he was named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks in March 1989.[27] Jarome Iginla, who became captain of the Calgary Flames in 2003, has been cited by ESPN as the first black captain in NHL history.[28]
In NHL history, there have been six goaltenders who served as official team captains:
The Hockey Hall of Fame displays a picture of Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Turk Broda wearing the Captain's "C", but he never actually served in that capacity, and he was actually wearing Toronto team Captain Syl Apps' sweater.
Prior to the 1948–49 season, the NHL made a change to the rules, prohibiting goalies from being captains or alternate captains. This was in response to complaints from opponents of the Montreal Canadiens, who complained that Durnan left his crease to argue with the referee at strategic points during games, resulting in unscheduled timeouts. This rule is sometimes referred to as the "Durnan Rule".[29]
Although the Canucks appointed Roberto Luongo as its team captain for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons, since he could not be his team's official on-ice captain, Willie Mitchell acted as the official on-ice captain, serving as liaison to the officials, and Henrik Sedin performed ceremonial aspects of the position such as pre-game faceoffs.[30]