Or the fans who think that sort of honor doesn't mean anything....feel like the ones thinking that might not have played much sports growing up.
None of those teams had significant veteran stars on long term contracts in place. The Landeskog move eventually cost the Avs Ryan O’Reilly.
No. Smith was always a 4-5 in Detroit. He benefitted from playing with excellent partners.
Really? I played a ton of sports growing up, both competitive and non-competitive. I understand the significance associated with being named team captain--I just don't think that not having one is emblematic of a leadership void or some other deficiency on the team. I don't think a "leadership committee" is inherently worse than having a single player emerge as the primary leader of a team.
As I said above, it's not that I don't think it's important. I think the "weight" of the letter can really take a toll on a guy if he's not suited to wear it; I also think some guys rise to the occasion when given the captaincy.
That wasn't directed toward you. I was arguing the point of a poster or two saying the C on a player's jersey doesn't mean much, because it absolutely does for that player and his teammates. I don't have a problem with them waiting for the leader to emerage from the group and waiting to hand it out.
Yeah I'm just not a fan of the "If you disagree with X you probably didn't play sports..." cliché. You can sit ten former hall of fame players down in a room and talk about any subject, and I guarantee you you'll have several different viewpoints on the matter. Just because someone doesn't subscribe to the "traditionalist" way of thinking doesn't mean they're some basement-dwelling nerd who never played sports (I know you didn't say this, but the two argument are often part and parcel).
Is it? Have you polled all the players out there? At all levels of hockey?
) 
Bob MacKenzie has told a story where he said on a studio that certain hit (can't remember which) will probably lead to a suspension by the NHL. Jeremy Roenick disagreed with him and the argument continued behind the scenes. Roenick said to McKenzien "You never played the game so you don't know what you're talking about". Bobby got a bit irritated and stated that "if that's your argument I'm going to lose every time. But would you listen to a better player than you as an authority on a given subject?" Roenick said yes and then McKenzie told him that he had talked to Bobby Orr? and he agreed it was a suspension. And that shut Roenick up.
Is it? Have you polled all the players out there? At all levels of hockey?
I'm sure the majority of players share the view of the captaincy as a sacred honor firmly entrenched in the culture of the sport. I'm sure there are also a lot of guys who don't really care. I mean, I know there are players who don't care who the captain is on their own team because they play the way they play and they don't need to take direction or motivation from a fellow player. They may respect the C and accordingly the person wearing it, but internally it doesn't mean anything to them. (I'm thinking of one very well-known player specifically who I won't name; although I only know a couple guys personally and have named them over the years
Some guys care, some guys don't.
I not saying he wasn't a 4-5. And I'm not saying he didn't benefit from good partners. I'm saying he was statistically very good at one thing, and that one thing was heavily de-emphasized in our D system.
and that's why I think they're going this route. They are waiting for a Captain to present himself
Yeah I mean you see it all the time in sports now, particularly with the proliferation of social media. Something controversial happens and two guys from one team are interviewed right after the game and condemn it. Then hours later several other guys from the team say it was no big deal. In baseball you have the whole "unwritten rules are sacred" and "play the right way" crowd of players and coaches and then you have the guys who think that's garbage and flip their bas into the air and have fun. Hockey players are split over whether hits are clean all the time. And on and on. Playing the game, even at the highest level, doesn't mean everyone has some homogeneous perspective on everything.
My mistake, and apologies.
