The best captains in hockey history

[VanIslander]

Captains have three areas of responsibility:

#1 TEAMMATES

• motivate the guys in the locker room
• lead by example
• be one great enough to follow

#2 THE LEAGUE

• correspond with on-ice officials, especially on calls
• have the authority to convey coach-to-ref decisions

#3 THE PUBLIC

• handle media duties
• represent the team in the public eye

We herald guys who have aspects of the role. But who are guys who personify all three?

(Note: the #1 area has heroes of different parts of it. Who has done everything elite?)

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[MadLuke]

Biased obviously, but it is hard to not simply answer mister Beliveau.

For number he and his wife are hard to beat, from the play day until death, her seat behind the bench was legendary, she was MTL first lady and in a very rabid hockey market, Beliveau phone number was a regular name with his actual phone number that people called, he answered the door to fans visiting him at his private home.

When Turgeon became captain, tell the story that he went to have super with Beliveau, I never heard a bad word about him, the gravita and his look-stature, the voice, the level of play, the career it is like drawing a captain.

As for leading by example, seem really good as well.

 

[GMR]

 

[frisco]

Sidney Crosby.

My Best-Carey

 

[MadLuke]

Not sure how you start trying to rank Sakic-Yzerman-Bourque with each other, feel like a tier system where I have them mentally close to each other, but I feel the last 6-7 years put them above Toews, auto-immune/resporarity issues make it unfair.

Having to pick, maybe it would be Yzerman-Bourque-Sakic in that order, but feel nitpicky. Never saw or heard anything about them that would make anyfranchise having second thought about making them lifelong captain and face of their franchise (or the league). Crosby joined that tier for me a while ago and he is just cementing it more and more, outside one playoff series against the Flyers and too much ref talk early on, almost a no fault since.

 

[JackSlater]

There's no way any of us can confidently declare anyone the best captain. Certain captains - Beliveau, Yzerman, Messier, Toews etc. - have big reputations and various stories and attestations to how good they were as captains. If I had to pick a captain for an all time team of hockey greats I'd pick Beliveau but there are plenty of good options.

 

[blundluntman]

Won't say Sakic is the greatest of all time, but he's up there over the last 30+ years. Never struck me as a very vocal player in the locker room but he lead by example by always coming up in the clutch, being professional/composed and facing controversy head on. He was so well respected across the league that even Red Wings players wouldn't let Sean Avery chirp him when they were going at it in the early 2000's.

I don't really think any of us can confirm all 3 categories since there's a lot we can't see/hear but Messier and Potvin strike me as two guys that best exemplify all the criteria you mentioned (post expansion anyway). I'd go to war for guys like that as a player

 

[Weztex]

I love Sakic, but to me there two little stains on an otherwise spotless capitaines. First, his reluctance to deal with the media while in Quebec City, and second, him signing an offer sheet with the Rangers one year after winning the cup. Maybe those aren’t fair points, I don’t know. But personally, they always irked me a little when Iooking at his tenure.

As for Toews, the whole Kyle Beach situation left a lot of questions about his dealing with locker room situations. A lot…