List of current NHL captains and alternate captains

Shane Doan has been Captain of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes since 2003. The captain can be identified by the large "C" on his jersey.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams, founded in 1917. Each team may select a captain, who has the "privilege of discussing with the referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game".^[1] Each team is also permitted to select alternate captains, who serve when the captain is not on the ice.^[1] Captains are required to wear the letter "C" on their uniform for identification while alternate captains wear the letter "A"; both letters are 3 inches (7.6 cm) in height.^[1]

Some NHL teams have no captain, either by choice or due to injury. Rule 6.2 of the 2008–09 Official NHL Rulebook indicates that "[only] when the captain is not in uniform, the coach shall have the right to designate three alternate captains. This must be done prior to the start of the game."^[1][2] Many NHL teams with a named captain select more than two alternate captains and rotate the "A" among these players throughout the season.^[3]

Goaltenders are not permitted to serve as captains during games.^[1] This rule was instituted in 1948 after teams complained that it took Montreal Canadiens goaltender Bill Durnan too long to skate to talk with the officials and back to his crease.^[4] Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo served as captain for two seasons (2008–09 and 2009–10), but because of the league's rule, Luongo was not allowed to serve as captain on-ice or wear the "C" on his jersey, though it was incorporated into the artwork on his mask.^[4][5] As a result, the Canucks were allowed to dress three alternate captains in games, as opposed to the league standard of two. Two (of the three) alternate captains handled on-ice duties in Luongo's place.^[5] Other than Durnan and Luongo, five other goaltenders have captained their team: John Ross Roach of the Toronto St. Patricks, George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens, Roy Worters of the New York Americans, Alex Connell of the original Ottawa Senators, and Charlie Gardiner of the Chicago Black Hawks.^[6]

When Gabriel Landeskog was named captain of the Colorado Avalanche, he became the youngest permanent captain in NHL history.^[7] Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vincent Lecavalier, former captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, are the second and third-youngest players to be named captain in NHL history. In 1984, Brian Bellows was named interim captain of the Minnesota North Stars when Craig Hartsburg was injured, and is the youngest player to captain a team in NHL history. However, because Bellows served only as an interim captain, Gabriel Landeskog retains the distinction of being the youngest permanent captain in the league's history.^[8] Mark Messier is the only player to captain two separate teams to Stanley Cup championships, those being the 1990 Edmonton Oilers and the 1994 New York Rangers.^[9]

Key

    Spent entire NHL career with team

Captains

Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Zdeno Chara, captain of the Boston Bruins

27 of the 30 NHL teams currently have a captain, all except the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, and San Jose Sharks. The current longest tenured Captain in the league is Shane Doan of the Arizona Coyotes, who has served his role since 2003. Four captains were appointed before the current season: Brian Gionta of the Buffalo Sabres, Willie Mitchell of the Florida Panthers, Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers, and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.

List of current NHL Captains

Team	Captain	Since	Pos
Anaheim Ducks	Getzlaf, RyanRyan Getzlaf	2010–11[10]	4 !C
Arizona Coyotes	Doan, ShaneShane Doan	2003–04	5 !RW
Boston Bruins	Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara	2006–07[11]	2 !D
Buffalo Sabres	Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta	2014–15[12]	5 !RW
Calgary Flames	Giordano, MarkMark Giordano[lower-alpha 1]	2013–14[13]	2 !D
Carolina Hurricanes	Staal, EricEric Staal	2009–10[14]	4 !C
Chicago Blackhawks	Toews, JonathanJonathan Toews	2008–09[15]	4 !C
Colorado Avalanche	Landeskog, GabrielGabriel Landeskog	2012–13[16]	3 !LW
Columbus Blue Jackets	—[lower-alpha 2]	—	—
Dallas Stars	Benn, JamieJamie Benn	2013–14[17]	3 !LW
Detroit Red Wings	Zetterberg, HenrikHenrik Zetterberg	2012–13[18]	3 !LW
Edmonton Oilers	Ference, AndrewAndrew Ference	2013–14[19]	2 !D
Florida Panthers	Mitchell, WillieWillie Mitchell	2014–15[20]	2 !D
Los Angeles Kings	Brown, DustinDustin Brown	2008–09[21]	5 !RW
Minnesota Wild	Koivu, MikkoMikko Koivu	2009–10[22]	4 !C
Montreal Canadiens	—[lower-alpha 2]	—	—
Nashville Predators	Weber, SheaShea Weber	2010–11[23]	2 !D
New Jersey Devils	Salvador, BryceBryce Salvador[lower-alpha 1]	2012–13[24]	2 !D
New York Islanders	Tavares, JohnJohn Tavares	2013–14[25]	4 !C
New York Rangers	McDonagh, RyanRyan McDonagh	2014–15[26]	2 !D
Ottawa Senators	Karlsson, ErikErik Karlsson	2014–15[27]	2 !D
Philadelphia Flyers	Giroux, ClaudeClaude Giroux	2012–13[28]	4 !C
Pittsburgh Penguins	Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby	2007–08[29]	4 !C
St. Louis Blues	Backes, DavidDavid Backes	2011–12[30]	4 !C
San Jose Sharks	—[lower-alpha 2]	—	—
Tampa Bay Lightning	Stamkos, StevenSteven Stamkos	2013–14[31]	4 !C
Toronto Maple Leafs	Phaneuf, DionDion Phaneuf	2010–11[32]	2 !D
Vancouver Canucks	Sedin, HenrikHenrik Sedin	2010–11[33]	4 !C
Washington Capitals	Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin	2009–10[34]	3 !LW
Winnipeg Jets	Ladd, AndrewAndrew Ladd	2010–11[35]	3 !LW

Alternate Captains

Jordan Staal, an alternate captain of the Carolina Hurricanes

Patrick Sharp, an alternate captain of the Chicago Blackhawks

Tomas Plekanec, an alternate captain of the Montreal Canadiens

Kyle Okposo, an alternate captain of the New York Islanders

Joe Thornton, an alternate captain of the San Jose Sharks

Blake Wheeler, an alternate captain of the Winnipeg Jets

List of current NHL Alternate Captains

Team	Alternate Captain(s)	Since	Pos
Anaheim Ducks	Beauchemin, FrancoisFrancois Beauchemin	2014–15[36]	2 !D
	Perry, CoreyCorey Perry	2014–15[36]	5 !RW
Arizona Coyotes	Chipchura, KyleKyle Chipchura	2014–15[37]	4 !C
	Ekman-Larsson, OliverOliver Ekman-Larsson	2014–15[37]	2 !D
	Hanzal, MartinMartin Hanzal	2011–12[38]	4 !C
Boston Bruins	Bergeron, PatricePatrice Bergeron	2006–07[39]	4 !C
	Kelly, ChrisChris Kelly	2011–12[40]	4 !C
	Krejci, DavidDavid Krejci	2013–14[41]	4 !C
Buffalo Sabres	Gorges, JoshJosh Gorges	2014–15[42]	2 !D
	Moulson, MattMatt Moulson	2014–15[42]	3 !LW
Calgary Flames	Hudler, JiriJiri Hudler	2014–15[43]	5 !RW
	Russell, KrisKris Russell	2014–15[44]	2 !D
	Wideman, DennisDennis Wideman	2014–15[43]	2 !D
Carolina Hurricanes	Staal, JordanJordan Staal	2012–13[45]	4 !C
Chicago Blackhawks	Keith, DuncanDuncan Keith	2008–09[46]	2 !D
	Sharp, PatrickPatrick Sharp	2008–09[46]	3 !LW
Colorado Avalanche	Iginla, JaromeJarome Iginla	2014–15[47]	5 !RW
	McLeod, CodyCody McLeod	2013–14[48]	3 !LW
Columbus Blue Jackets	Boll, JaredJared Boll	2013–14	5 !RW
	Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky	2012–13[49]	4 !C
	Johnson, JackJack Johnson	2012–13[49]	2 !D
	Letestu, MarkMark Letestu[lower-alpha 1]	2013–14	4 !C
Dallas Stars	Daley, TrevorTrevor Daley	2014–15[50]	2 !D
	Fiddler, VernonVernon Fiddler	2014–15[50]	4 !C
Detroit Red Wings	Datsyuk, PavelPavel Datsyuk	2006–07[51]	4 !C
	Kronwall, NiklasNiklas Kronwall	2011–12[52]	2 !D
Edmonton Oilers	Eberle, JordanJordan Eberle	2012–13[53]	5 !RW
	Hall, TaylorTaylor Hall	2012–13[53]	3 !LW
Florida Panthers	Bolland, DaveDave Bolland	2014–15[54]	4 !C
	Campbell, BrianBrian Campbell	2011–12[55]	2 !D
	MacKenzie, DerekDerek MacKenzie	2014–15[54]	4 !C
	Upshall, ScottieScottie Upshall	2013–14[56]	3 !LW
Los Angeles Kings	Greene, MattMatt Greene	2008–09[57]	2 !D
	Kopitar, AnzeAnze Kopitar	2008–09[57]	4 !C
Minnesota Wild	Parise, ZachZach Parise	2012–13[58]	3 !LW
	Suter, RyanRyan Suter	2012–13[58]	2 !D
Montreal Canadiens	Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	2008–09[59]	2 !D
	Pacioretty, MaxMax Pacioretty	2014–15[60]	3 !LW
	Plekanec, TomasTomas Plekanec	2014–15[60]	4 !C
	Subban, P. K.P. K. Subban	2014–15[60]	2 !D
Nashville Predators	Fisher, MikeMike Fisher	2011–12[61]	4 !C
	Neal, JamesJames Neal	2014–15[62]	3 !LW
New Jersey Devils	Elias, PatrikPatrik Elias	2007–08	4 !C
	Greene, AndyAndy Greene	2013–14[63]	2 !D
	Zajac, TravisTravis Zajac	2013–14[63]	4 !C
New York Islanders	Nielsen, FransFrans Nielsen	2014–15[64]	4 !C
	Okposo, KyleKyle Okposo	2009–10[65]	5 !RW
	Clutterbuck, CalCal Clutterbuck	2014–15[66]	5 !RW
New York Rangers	Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi	2013–14[67]	2 !D
	St. Louis, MartinMartin St. Louis	2014–15[68]	5 !RW
	Staal, MarcMarc Staal	2010–11[68]	2 !D
	Stepan, DerekDerek Stepan	2014–15[68]	4 !C
Ottawa Senators	Neil, ChrisChris Neil[lower-alpha 1]	2013–14[69]	5 !RW
	Phillips, ChrisChris Phillips	2006–07[70]	2 !D
Philadelphia Flyers	Simmonds, WayneWayne Simmonds	2014–15[71]	5 !RW
	Streit, MarkMark Streit	2014–15[71]	2 !D
Pittsburgh Penguins	Kunitz, ChrisChris Kunitz	2012–13[72]	3 !LW
	Malkin, EvgeniEvgeni Malkin	2008–09[73]	4 !C
St. Louis Blues	Jackman, BarretBarret Jackman	2011–12[74]	2 !D
	Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie	2013–14	5 !RW
	Pietrangelo, AlexAlex Pietrangelo	2012–13	2 !D
	Steen, AlexanderAlexander Steen	2011–12[74]	3 !LW
San Jose Sharks	Marleau, PatrickPatrick Marleau	2014–15[75]	3 !LW
	Pavelski, JoeJoe Pavelski	2014–15[75]	4 !C
	Thornton, JoeJoe Thornton	2014–15[75]	4 !C
	Vlasic, Marc-EdouardMarc-Edouard Vlasic	2014–15[75]	2 !D
Tampa Bay Lightning	—[lower-alpha 3]	—	—
Toronto Maple Leafs	Lupul, JoffreyJoffrey Lupul	2012–13[76]	3 !LW
	Robidas, StephaneStephane Robidas[lower-alpha 1]	2014–15[77]	2 !D
Vancouver Canucks	Bieksa, KevinKevin Bieksa	2010–11[78]	2 !D
	Sedin, DanielDaniel Sedin	2010–11[78]	3 !LW
Washington Capitals	Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom	2010–11	4 !C
	Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik	2014–15[79]	2 !D
Winnipeg Jets	Stuart, MarkMark Stuart	2011–12	2 !D
	Wheeler, BlakeBlake Wheeler	2014–15[80]	5 !RW

Notes

References

Team rosters

Specific