The captaincy Is another old and tired NHL cliche, These players are all grown ups and there making a great living playing a sport that they are passionate about therefore they should all display leadership skills and be great roll models In the locker room and off the Ice.
- Shady1962
The is more to the captaincy then being a locker room presence and "lead by example" type person. Those that have a C or A or supposed to be the only ones that haggle with the refs "officially" on penalties and other situations during the game. This was the only real bad thing in the past with Koivu being C. He was VERY set in his ways and actually intimidated more than a few refs, which tended to work against him and the Wild. But giving a player a "C" is important. Generally, that player has EARNED the right be a vocal person within the locker room. Yes, anyone can stand up and bark at their teammates, but when someone has earned that C, players either shut up and listen to what their Cap says, or they blow them off and have their own plan. But coaches and GMs watch for this as well. It's easier to find when a player doesn't gel with a roster from things like this. Think about Jack Parkman in the movie Major Leagues 2. Yeah, there was no C and he didn't fit the roster AT ALL. So he was traded and the team improved. I know that's just a movie, but it's the same in real life as wel. Now if its the C that needs to have an "altitude adjustment" (yes I typed it that way on purpose), then the team will have deeper issues.
With all that being said, I agree 100% with Gump in the fact that the C next year needs to be on someone other than Spurgeon. I honestly think we are seeing Spurgeon on the decline already. Don't get me wrong, he's still a good defenseman, but there just seemed to be a lot missing with him this past season. Maybe being named the "C" was a little too much for him. I prefer captains to have a visible fire in their belly, like Gabriel Landeskog. The Wild for so many years now have had a passive (emotionally) captain, it's time to change that up. I honestly believe Foligno would make an excellent captain. He just seems to know when to rev the juice of players at the right times. Guys like Fiala and Dumba, who wear their emotions on their sleeves don't work as well, because they become TOO emotional on the ice.
Simply put, a captain should have the ability to scare the beejeezus outta ya. But in the same moment, he'll help you bury the body somewhere then go have a beer with ya.
