When then 32-year-old Brooks Laich was traded to the young, captain-less Toronto Maple Leafs at last season's trade deadline, some wondered if Laich, known as a well-spoken leader, was destined to be the 19th captain in franchise history. Laich would go on to admit that he dreamed of donning the "C" for the Maple Leafs as a child.
Instead, the cold business side of the NHL caught up with Laich last week when he was placed on waivers and then assigned to the AHL's Toronto Marlies. The Maple Leafs are still without a captain.
And the Leafs aren't alone: The Carolina Hurricanes have not christened anyone with the "C" this season, and the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers only just recently named their captains.
Unlike in other professional sports, where captains are often ceremonial, the role of an NHL team captain has traditionally come with official duties -- they're even spelled out in the rulebook. Rule 6.1 states: "One Captain shall be appointed by each team, and he alone shall have the privilege of discussing with the Referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game." Off the ice, a captain can also act as conduit between the team's head coach and players.
But in reality, the role has begun to change for many teams -- so much so that many believe having a guy with a letter on his sweater isn't the requirement it used to be.
"Today's game is led by core groups of players. It's not done by one individual," said Laich after a Maple Leafs training camp practice before he was sent down.
Frequent coaching changes and player movement mean that dressing rooms evolve more quickly than they used to, and given the more diverse geographical representation of players, it's often not up to just one player to dictate the environment in a room.
"Just because you have a letter doesn't mean you're the leader, and just because you don't have a letter doesn't mean you can't be a leader," Laich continued. "The room figures itself out. People follow actions more than they follow words. That kind of stuff will take care of itself."
Laich's leadership approach seems to be echoed around the league. Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said his team's captaincy is still "to be determined." With a leadership core that includes Justin Faulk, Ron Hainsey, Jordan Staal and Jay McClement, Peters doesn't believe the Hurricanes need a captain immediately.
"If we name one, it'll be because we have the guy who's the slam-dunk choice," Peters said. "If we don't, it's because we don't want to make a mistake. What we don't want to do is rush into things and then down the road say, 'Geez, we made a mistake.' I'd rather be patient and possibly go with three 'A's' and then when it is time to give out the 'C,' it's something we don't take lightly."
Some believe the captaincy is simply an encumbrance, as it adds responsibility in an age when players already have plenty of off-the-ice responsibilities.
The San Jose Sharks, for one, have had a tumultuous recent history with their captaincy. In 2008-09, the Sharks won the Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the NHL's best regular-season record but then were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Anaheim Ducks. Many questioned then-San Jose captain Patrick Marleau's leadership, and Marleau, who had worn the "C" since 2004, was stripped of the captaincy that summer. But the forward bounced back the next season with 83 points (he had scored 71 and 48 points the previous two seasons, respectively). The Sharks eventually named Joe Thornton as his successor, but San Jose stumbled in the first round of the playoffs again in 2014 and Jumbo Joe was ousted from the role too. The following season, the Sharks went without a captain -- and missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
"Sometimes guys get that letter and it's a burden for them," Peters said. "We don't want it to be burdensome for anybody. If it's going to hurt any player, we don't want to do it."
And then there's Connor McDavid, recently named Oilers captain and now the youngest in the NHL. Few doubt McDavid's game-changing ability, but being named captain before he even had a full season of NHL experience under his belt speaks more to McDavid becoming the face of the franchise and less to him relying on his professional experience to guide the team.
How McDavid will handle the captaincy in addition to being the savior of the franchise remains to be seen. McDavid has served as a team captain before, both for the OHL's Erie Otters and for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.
If there's anyone who understands the pressure of the role, it's Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan, the current longest-serving captain in the NHL, who has worn the "C" for the Coyotes since before the 2003-04 season and has become synonymous with the franchise.
"As a sport we put so much onus on the captain," Doan said. "And I don't think they want to put that on certain people and put people in a position where it's going to be a little more difficult for them to be successful. People are more conscientious about giving the 'C' out."
The youth movement is well underway in the desert, as the Coyotes opened their season with five rookies on their roster. So has Doan's role as a captain taken on greater heft with the need to guide these young players? Not necessarily. In today's NHL, as Peters noted, the responsibility of taking care of young players falls less on one player.
"Coaches, for the most part, are considerably more player-friendly than they used to be 20, 30 years ago," Doan said. "I think everyone has a little more say. Coaches are much more conscientious about the mental side of the game. And I think that's probably why there are teams without captains: because they're trying to make sure they put everybody in a position to be successful. And they don't want to put undue pressure on guys. They see a guy coming up and they're like, 'Well, this is a guy we want to be captain but we don't want to have to end up taking it away or changing anything in the future.'"
Furthermore, teams seem much more focused on finding a captain who is likely to stay with them long-term, as moving one can be risky business.
And Peters would rather not rush into a decision on one of the league's youngest and most improving franchises. "We need to have a guy that's 100 percent on board with what we're building here in Carolina, [who] believes in the direction we're going," he said.
Tradition has long been important in hockey. But the NHL has seen significant changes to its rules, collective bargaining agreement, All-Star Game and playoff formats in recent years, so the role of the captain could simply be the next thing to change. Some of the game's most progressive minds, including Peters, could herald a change in how teams are led.
When asked if having a captain is completely imperative in today's NHL, Peters didn't hesitate. "It's not totally necessary," he said. "If you're giving it out just for the sake of handing out the letter, you're doing the wrong thing."