The captain's 'C' holds a heavy weight in the NHL. While it is hard enough to lead a team to a Stanley Cup, five notable players did it in their first season as the captain.
After years of playoff disappointment, the Toronto Maple Leafs changed things up by naming Auston Matthews the 26th captain in franchise history.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old center takes over from former captain John Tavares for the 2024-25 season with the goal of winning the team's first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Whether that will ever happen remains to be seen. But with six NHL teams having captain vacancies heading into training camp, there's a chance we'll see more first-year captains this year.
There have been a handful of instances throughout NHL history where first-year captains have led their squads to a Stanley Cup.
Here are five such players who accomplished this feat:
1917-18: Ken Randall, RW, Toronto Arenas
The first time a first-year captain took home the Cup in NHL history was actually in the inaugural NHL season. In 1917-18, Ken Randall captained the newly formed Toronto Arenas to an NHL championship win against the Montreal Canadiens in a two-game aggregate series. The teams split the two games, but the Arenas won 10-7 on total goals.
The Arenas then moved on to the Stanley Cup 'World Series' where they took on the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) champion Vancouver Millionaires in a best-of-five series. The series came down to a pivotal Game 5, with the Arenas securing a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, which they would ride en route to a Stanley Cup victory.
While Randall was far from the leading scorer on the team — finishing the 21-game regular season with the sixth-most points (14) — he pitched in two goals and an assist through seven playoff games for the Arenas.
1956-57: Maurice Richard, RW, Montreal Canadiens
Following the retirement of Emile 'Butch' Bouchard after the Canadiens won the 1956 Stanley Cup, Maurice 'Rocket' Richard had big expectations as he took hold of the captaincy.
Richard did an admirable job, finishing second in team scoring that season with 62 points in 63 games. In the playoffs, Richard put his talents on full display with eight goals and 11 points in 10 games.
His performance helped the Canadiens eliminate the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins in five games each to secure the franchise's eighth Stanley Cup. Richard's most notable performance came in Game 1 of the Cup final, where he scored four goals in a 5-1 victory over the Bruins.
That Cup run would be the first of four consecutive championship seasons with Richard at the helm.
1979-80: Denis Potvin, D, New York Islanders
After Clark Gillies relinquished the captaincy, Potvin became the third captain in Islanders history on Oct. 11, 1979. The season before, Potvin had his highest regular-season point total to that point, with 101 points in 73 games.
His first season as captain saw him miss all but 31 games due to a thumb injury suffered against the Oilers on Nov. 30 but he still tallied 41 points in that short span.
When the playoffs arrived, Potvin was ready to go, racking up 19 points in 21 games, leading all NHL defensemen in that post-season.
The Islanders also captured the franchise's first Stanley Cup in the process, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in six games to win it all.
This was the beginning of an Islanders dynasty that saw the team win four Cups in a row from 1980 to 1983. Potvin was captain for all of them.
1983-84: Wayne Gretzky, C, Edmonton Oilers
With all the other accolades The Great One holds, it's no surprise that winning a Cup in his first year as captain is on that list.
It's also no surprise that after the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons saw Gretzky put up ludicrous point totals — 212 and 196, respectively — captain Lee Fogolin decided Gretzky's time had come and handed over the captaincy.
The Oilers finished atop the NHL standings in 1983-84, led, of course, by their new captain Gretzky, who unloaded on opponents for 87 goals and 205 points in 74 games. To no surprise, he took home the Art Ross Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy for his unreal play.
Come playoff time, the Oilers had one close call, edging out the Calgary Flames in seven games in the second round. Other than that, they had an easy run to the franchise's first Cup, winning the final in five games against the defending champions, the Potvin-captained Islanders.
Despite losing out on the Conn Smythe Trophy to teammate Mark Messier, Gretzky led the Oilers in playoff scoring with 35 points through 19 games. He went on to captain the Oilers to three more Stanley Cups before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.
2005-06: Rod Brind'Amour, C, Carolina Hurricanes
While the current Hurricanes coach has yet to bring another Cup to Carolina, Brind'Amour did it as a player during his first season wearing the 'C' for the club.
Taking over the title in the 2005 off-season after Carolina shipped Ron Francis to Toronto at the 2004 trade deadline — and after the 2004-05 lockout — Brind'Amour carried the captain's torch quite well.
Despite his aging veteran status, the 35-year-old center bounced back from a lacklustre 38-point 2003-04 season with 70 points in 2005-06. While the team missed the playoffs in 2003-04, under Brind'Amour's captaincy, they finished third in the league standings. He even took home the Selke Trophy for his defensive work at center.
Brind'Amour and the Hurricanes had no easy run in the playoffs, with two of their series — including the Cup final against Edmonton — going seven games. On top of other stellar performances, Brind'Amour's 12 goals and 18 points in 25 playoff games helped give the Hurricanes the strength to stamp their names on the Stanley Cup.
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