{"id":132184,"date":"2022-09-14T16:29:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-14T20:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=132184"},"modified":"2022-09-14T16:29:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T20:29:21","slug":"filling-nhl-captains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/09\/14\/filling-nhl-captains\/","title":{"rendered":"Filling Every Vacant Captaincy in the NHL"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Nick Suzuki recently being named captain<\/a> of the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and the youngest to don the captaincy in franchise history at just 23 years old, it leaves six franchises with a vacant captaincy across the NHL. Here are some players that could step into the role of NHL captains.<\/p>\n

Filling the NHL Captains<\/h2>\n

Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler<\/a><\/h3>\n

With former longtime captain Ryan Getzlaf, retiring after last season<\/a>, it leaves a massive hole for the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> in the leadership department. Fowler is the longest-tenured Ducks player and would be a great choice for the captaincy. He is 30 years old and has four years remaining on his contract with the Ducks. His experience would help lead Anaheim and its young core into the next era.<\/p>\n

Arizona Coyotes: Clayton Keller<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Yotes didn’t have a captain last season after trading away Oliver Ekman-Larsson last summer.<\/a> There aren’t many big-name players on the Coyotes roster outside of Jakob Chychrun<\/a> and Clayton Keller. Chychrun would be a great choice for the captaincy after sporting the Alternate captaincy last year. However, it seems like the Coyotes could be parting with their star defenseman soon. This leaves room for Keller to become the Arizona Coyotes<\/a>‘ next captain. Keller is coming off a leg injury suffered last season<\/a> but appears ready for training camp this fall.<\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres: Dylan Cozens<\/a><\/h3>\n

The young Buffalo Sabres<\/a> team is finally headed in the right direction and 21-year-old Dylan Cozens is the perfect player to lead them into their next era. The “Workhorse from Whitehorse’s” character and work ethic make him a great leader on and off the ice. He captained team Canada’s world juniors squad back in 2020 after Kirby Dach<\/a> went down with an injury and also captained the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. The Sabres likely wouldn’t rush to give Cozens the captaincy this season. However, he is the obvious choice to be the future captain of the Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>