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Bolts not expected to name new captain ‘til after preseason

martinst.louisartrossgetty

Tampa Bay has been captain-less since the club bought out Vincent Lecavalier in late June.

Now it sounds like the Lightning will go without for a little while longer.

The club isn’t expected to name a new captain until after its final preseason game -- Saturday, Sept. 28 vs. Florida -- according to Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times.

Lecavalier, now with Philadelphia, served two terms as the Lightning’s captain, the first from 2000-01 and the second from 2008-13.

In between, the organization turned to a pair of veteran presences to wear the “C” -- Dave Andreychuk (who inherited it at age 39 and captained the team to the 2004 Stanley Cup), and Tim Taylor (who inherited it at 37 and served for two seasons.)

It’ll be interesting to see what route the club goes this time around as two candidates immediately jump to mind: Martin St. Louis and Steve Stamkos.

St. Louis, 37, is the club’s longest-tenured player and has served as an alternate captain since 2007.

Stamkos, 23, is the club’s brightest young star, a two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner and has worn an “A” since 2011.

There are cases to be made for both. Based on merit and service to the team, St. Louis seems like a solid choice -- but Stamkos is the future of the club and, as we’ve seen in Chicago (with Jonathan Toews) and Pittsburgh (Sidney Crosby), putting a “C” on a young star can fast-track his leadership growth.

If there’s anybody else in the running for Bolts captain, it’d probably have to be defenseman Eric Brewer. He’s got the most leadership experience on the roster, having served as St. Louis’ captain for three seasons (2008-11).