Candidates to consider when the Flames name a new captain

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

It clearly wasn’t on the list of things to do for the Calgary Flames last fall.

But back-to-back seasons without a captain in Calgary doesn’t seem like the likeliest scenarios for a team that has more than a handful of interesting candidates to stitch a “C” on.

They didn’t feel the urge last season.

“We’ve talked a lot about it,” general manager Brad Treliving said on Day 1 of Flames Training Camp last September. “There won’t be any announcements today and there won’t be any announcements tomorrow, [but] we’re going to let this thing play out. It’s a really big decision.

“I don’t think you can name a captain just so you can check a box and say that you have that stroked off the list.”

But the organization, which had a vacancy in the role after longtime captain Mark Giordano was plucked by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft last summer, has never gone back-to-back seasons without someone with the “C,” according to Hockey Reference.

With that in mind, here are some clear candidates to change that:

Mikael Backlund

Mikael Backlund is the longest-tenured active member of the Flames at 14 seasons, one off the franchise record of 15 set by Jarome Iginla, who was with the franchise from 1996-2013 and captained the club from 2003 until his trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins over nine years ago.

The 33-year-old is also tied for third all-time in games played at 826, so he’s put in the time. Adding to Backlund’s case is that he’s served as an alternate captain for the club for the past five seasons. He also captained Sweden to gold at the IIHF World Championship in 2018, so he does have some experience.

Christopher Tanev

His tenure in Calgary has been short, but Christopher Tanev’s approach certainly has been eventful. There’s no one on the roster who displays more in the way of “lead by example” than the rugged 32-year-old, who played through a torn labrum and separated shoulder for Flames in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — and remained their top defensive blueliner despite that fact.

Tanev has a long history of wearing a letter on his sweater, sporting one with the Vancouver Canucks for several seasons before joining Calgary via free agency.

Jonathan Huberdeau

Though he hasn’t played a game for the organization just yet, it may not be so far-fetched to envision Jonathan Huberdeau in a leadership role. He served as an alternate to Aleksander Barkov with the Florida Panthers, so leadership qualities do exist in the 29-year-old.

Even more, Huberdeau is under contract for the next nine seasons after signing the richest contract in team history, giving way to long-term stability in the leadership group.

Milan Lucic

Should the Flames want a transitional captain before anointing Huberdeau with a long-term solution, Milan Lucic would make perfect sense. He’s got almost 1,100 games of NHL experience under his belt — the most on the active roster — and Lucic has that Stanley Cup championship experience.

Understandably, Lucic is a respected voice in the organization.

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