It was reported by multiple outlets, including TSN, that the Kings 31-year old captain will be removed from that responsibility. While nothing is official yet it is being widely reported.
Hearing Dustin Brown has been told he will no longer be captain of the #LAKings. They want to go in a different direction with the 'C.' #TSN
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 27, 2016
As stated in the tweet by TSN's Frank Seravalli, the Kings are looking to go in a different direction.
Direction has been something already brought up by Dean Lombardi in his post season conference call, but I doubt many saw this move coming. The future of Brown has been murky, and Lombardi stating that he "Needed more" out of his then captain in the same post-season conference call was very telling. While trades have been brought up on multiple occasions by the Kings twitterverse, the likelihood of the Kings finding a decent suitor and a positive outlook with a trade are slim. We touched on that here on the blog a few weeks ago right here
The likelihood of Lombardi both stripping Brown of the captaincy and trading him in the same offseason seems unlikely, and a bit harsh from a player standpoint. Nevertheless, this might be the first in a series of moves aimed at a slight culture change within the organization.
The Kings have yet to make a statement on this, but since Yahoo, TSN, and now Sports Illustrated have all picked up the information and it has yet to be disputed, it seems likely that the team will have a new captain come October.
Who that will be remains to be seen.
More to come as this develops.
Follow me on twitter for news and notes about the Kings, the Reign, and the NHL