Don't expect Flames to name a captain anytime soon

Sep 23 2022, 6:15 pm

Don’t expect Flames to name a captain anytime soon.

“I don’t think anybody really cares in our locker room”

Expect the Calgary Flames to roll into the 2022-23 season without a “C.” 

The Flames don’t seem particularly concerned with stitching the captaincy on any one player at this stage of the game, a strategy they successfully employed last year after the departure of longtime fixture Mark Giordano. 

To put it bluntly, there’s no rush to break out the sewing kit. 

It’s not too important to do so.

“Not really, no,” Flames coach Darryl Sutter said Thursday.

Calgary has never gone back-to-back seasons without a captain and, prior to last year, had only had one season — 1990-91 — without a frontline leader, according to Hockey Reference. 

That’ll change, it seems. 

At least heading into October. 

“Darryl and I have talked about it a little bit,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said Wednesday. “That’s got to play out. I don’t think you just name a captain to check it off a list. I think those things, we’ll see how everything goes. We’ve got some new people in here.

“I think we’ve got lots of strong leaders on this group. We have to let this play out and that’s something that we’ll talk about during and throughout camp.”

Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and Christopher Tanev served as regulars with the alternate captaincy, with Johnny Gaudreau, briefly sporting the “A.”

Monahan was flipped to the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason, and Tkachuk was optioned to the Florida Panthers in a swap that brought back Jonathan Huberdeau — an assistant in the Sunshine State — and MacKenzie Weegar. 

Gaudreau signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in unrestricted free agency. 

“I don’t think anybody really cares in our locker room to be honest,” returning forward Tyler Toffoli said Friday. “I’ve played on a team where there’s a captain and two assistants and there should be 10 other guys with either a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ on their jersey.

“For me personally I don’t think it’s a big deal and in our locker room we’re not worried about those types of things.”

There’s no shortage of candidates to sport either letter, a process that’ll surely play itself out over camp, including the newcomer Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, who inked a seven-year deal with Calgary in August. 

The Flames have had just two captains in nearly 20 years.

Giordano was the team’s captain from 2013-2021. Prior to him, Jarome Iginla wore the “C” from 2003-2013.

“Sometimes we rush to say, ‘Okay let’s do this,'” Treliving said. “Let’s see how things work out. Let’s just see how things work out. Let’s see how the group dynamic works. Let’s see how this all plays out. 

“It’s something Darryl and I will talk about. Not opposed to anything. Really it’s not a priority for us. Making sure everything fits is the priority. We’ll see how things work out over the course of the next little bit.”

Aaron VickersAaron Vickers

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