Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have captain for rest of 2015-16 season
The Maple Leafs will not name a captain for the rest of the regular season after trading captain Dion Phaneuf
The Toronto Maple Leafs made a necessary move for their rebuild when they traded defenseman Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators, the man who was their captain since June of 2010. Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed that the team will not have a captain for the rest of the regular season.
Lamoriello says the Leafs won't have a captain the rest of this season.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 9, 2016
The team will go through an assortment of rotating alternate captains. Forward Tyler Bozak and defenseman Matt Hunwick are currently the lone alternate captains and it’s likely that they will name one more alternate captain. The NHL dictates that each team is allowed to have two alternate captains assuming that they have one who is active. If they do not have an active captain, the NHL allows teams to have as many as three alternate captains.
This is the right decision by the Maple Leafs. Nobody on Toronto’s roster has proven that they have what it takes to carry that title. There’s no reason to rush that decision if there’s nobody who’s worthy of being a captain. The Leafs join the Edmonton Oilers as the only NHL teams whose captaincy is vacant.
Columbus did not have a captain from 2012 until this offseason when the team named Nick Foligno the captain. Not having a captain isn’t the end of the world. Especially not for a team that is not expected to contend for at least the next two seasons. Once Toronto has a capable captain, they can appoint one.