It’s one thing to be the captain of an NHL team, but wearing the “C” in Montreal brings on a rare level of scrutiny. Being the Canadiens’ captain is often about a lot more than taking charge of the locker room, as Habs great Yvan Cournoyer explained to the Montreal Gazette on Sunday:
“Being captain is something among the guys. It’s a little bit of everything, on the ice and off for the players, off it for the organization,” Cournoyer said.
“ ... I might know that he’s a good player who can do something on the ice, but what can he do to bring the team together? That’s my main thing about the captain. In my day, if things were going bad, or if the players were having problems, it was up to the captain, and the guys together, to figure it out.”
(Check out the rest of the article here, it’s a great read.)
With Brian Gionta out of town, the organization has that question to answer. While many - Cournoyer included - believe that the decision doesn’t need to be rushed, it’s interesting to ponder the options.
For the sake of simplicity, this poll doesn’t include every player on the roster. An “other” option is included in case you really think that the likes of Alexei Emelin and Rene Bourque deserve greater consideration. Feel free to advance arguments in the comments, as well, of course.
(Carey Price’s inclusion is mostly an homage to the failed Roberto Luongo experiment in Vancouver, but stranger things have happened, right?)
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