GM Kyle Davidson announces Chicago will go a year with no single player wearing a "C" on their sweater. That's partly out of respect to Jonathan Toews, who's not returning, but also to let new leadership develop on the rebuilding team.
The Chicago Blackhawks have Connor Bedard, hockey's next generational talent, in the fold, along with a wealth of other promising young players. But apparently they don't have anyone who's ready to replace Jonathan Toews, at least not yet.
Jonathan Toews addresses reporters following his final game as a Blackhawk, against Philadelphia last spring. No single Chicago player is ready to step this season to fill his skates as captain of the team.General manager Kyle Davidson announced on Tuesday the Blackhawks will not designate a single captain for 2023-24. Instead, Chicago will do that by committee this season, allowing new leaders to emerge.
"From a formal leadership perspective, we're not going to have a captain this year," Davidson told reporters as the team gears up for training camp. "We'll have a group of assistants, which we'll determine and announce later in training camp."
During the offseason, Davidson added several key"character" veterans to support Bedard and other promising youngsters. The most prominent newcomers are forwards Nick Foligno, previously a captain in Columbus, and Taylor Hall and Corey Perry. Top defenseman Seth Jones, who led the team in minutes playerd last season, also seemed like possibility to wear the "C".
But none will be stepping in to fill the skates of Toews, who is taking at least a season off from hockey as he sorts out health issues. The 35-year-old center is a free agent after his eight-year, $84 million contract with the Blackhawks ran out last spring and the team decided not to re-sign him.
Blackhawks plans to have several assistant captains this season as Connor Bedard enters the NHL. Learn more about Chicago, Bedard and all 32 NHL teams with a subscription to The Hockey News. Go to Toews has played all of his 15 NHL seasons with Chicago, and was the Blackhawks captain for the last 14. Along with Patrick Kane, he was the face of the franchise as it won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015 during the best run its 97-year history.
"We're looking for the collective to find that leadership capability and not just the player that will wind up wearing the letter on their sweater," Davidson said. "We're looking for everyone to step up as we enter the year.
"Over the next year, we'll see who emerges, see what the best option is and decide next year if it's appropriate to name someone."
Who knows who that new Chicago captain might eventually be? The dynamic might change as Bedard, defenseman Kevin Korchinski and other prized youngsters settle in.
"The plan right now it to let it breathe for a year," Davidson said. "We came off such a successful tenure with Jonathan that, a little bit is just out of respect for Jonathan, to not fill that spot right away.
Toews was saluted at the United Center following his final game."And the other part is not to put that pressure on someone else when you're coming out of a period of such, call it greatness, right? You want the next person to be in a position to succeed."
And as Davidson pointed out, there's no NHL requirement for a team to designate a single captain.
"We just felt it was best to leave that, push that decision a little bit," Davidson said. "We'll let the chips fall where they may."