List of current NHL captains and alternate captains

Shane Doan has been Captain of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes since 2003. The captain can be identified by the large "C" on his jersey.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 teams, founded in 1917. Each team may select a captain, who has the "privilege of discussing with the referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game."^[1] Each team is also permitted to select alternate captains, who serve when the captain is not on the ice.^[1] Captains are required to wear the letter "C" on their uniform for identification while alternate captains wear the letter "A"; both letters are 3 inches (7.6 cm) in height.

Rule 6.2 of the 2008–09 Official NHL Rulebook indicates that "[only] when the captain is not in uniform, the coach shall have the right to designate three alternate captains. This must be done prior to the start of the game."^[1][2] Many NHL teams with a named captain select more than two alternate captains and rotate the "A" among these players throughout the season.^[3] Currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes do not have a captain after trading Dion Phaneuf, and Eric Staal, respectively, to other teams.

Goaltenders are not permitted to serve as captains during games.^[1] This rule was instituted in 1948 after teams complained that it took Montreal Canadiens goaltender Bill Durnan too long to skate to talk with the officials and back to his crease.^[4] Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo served as captain for two seasons (2008–09 and 2009–10), but because of the League's rule, he was not allowed to serve as captain on-ice or wear the "C" on his jersey, though it was incorporated into the artwork on his mask.^[4][5] As a result, the Canucks were allowed to dress three alternate captains in games, as opposed to the League standard of two. Two (of the three) alternate captains handled on-ice duties in Luongo's place.^[5] Other than Durnan and Luongo, five other goaltenders have captained their team: John Ross Roach of the Toronto St. Patricks, George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens, Roy Worters of the New York Americans, Alec Connell of the original Ottawa Senators and Charlie Gardiner of the Chicago Black Hawks.^[6]

When Connor McDavid was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers, he became the youngest permanent captain in NHL history.^[7] Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are the second- and third-youngest players to be named captain in NHL history, respectively. In 1984, Brian Bellows was named interim captain of the Minnesota North Stars when Craig Hartsburg was injured, and is the youngest player to captain a team in NHL history. However, because Bellows served only as an interim captain, McDavid retains the distinction of being the youngest permanent captain in the League's history.^[8] Mark Messier is the only player to captain two separate teams to Stanley Cup championships, those being the 1990 Edmonton Oilers and the 1994 New York Rangers.^[9]

Key

   Spent entire NHL career with team

Captains

Zdeno Chara, captain of the Boston Bruins

Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Twenty-eight of the thirty NHL teams currently have a captain. The two teams without a captain are the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The current longest-tenured captain in the League is Shane Doan of the Arizona Coyotes, who has served in the role since September 10, 2003. As of October 9, 2016, six captains have been named prior to the 2016–17 NHL season: Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues, Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets, Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, and Derek MacKenzie of the Florida Panthers.

List of current NHL Captains

Team	Captain	Since	Pos
Anaheim Ducks	Getzlaf, RyanRyan Getzlaf	2010–11[10]	1 !C
Arizona Coyotes	Doan, ShaneShane Doan	2003–04	3 !RW
Boston Bruins	Chara, ZdenoZdeno Chara	2006–07[11]	4 !D
Buffalo Sabres	Gionta, BrianBrian Gionta	2014–15[12]	2 !RW
Calgary Flames	Giordano, MarkMark Giordano	2013–14[13]	4 !D
Carolina Hurricanes	Vacant	2015–16	—
Chicago Blackhawks	Toews, JonathanJonathan Toews	2008–09[14]	1 !C
Colorado Avalanche	Landeskog, GabrielGabriel Landeskog	2012–13[15]	2 !LW
Columbus Blue Jackets	Foligno, NickNick Foligno	2015–16[16]	2 !LW
Dallas Stars	Benn, JamieJamie Benn	2013–14[17]	2 !LW
Detroit Red Wings	Zetterberg, HenrikHenrik Zetterberg	2012–13[18]	2 !LW/C
Edmonton Oilers	McDavid, ConnorConnor McDavid	2016–17[7]	1 !C
Florida Panthers	Derek MacKenzie	2016–17	1 !C
Los Angeles Kings	Kopitar, AnzeAnze Kopitar	2016–17[19]	1 !C
Minnesota Wild	Koivu, MikkoMikko Koivu	2009–10[20]	1 !C
Montreal Canadiens	Max Pacioretty	2015–16[21]	2 !LW
Nashville Predators	Mike Fisher	2016–17[22][23]	1 !C
New Jersey Devils	Greene, AndyAndy Greene	2015–16[24]	4 !D
New York Islanders	Tavares, JohnJohn Tavares	2013–14[25]	1 !C
New York Rangers	McDonagh, RyanRyan McDonagh	2014–15[26]	4 !D
Ottawa Senators	Karlsson, ErikErik Karlsson	2014–15[27]	4 !D
Philadelphia Flyers	Giroux, ClaudeClaude Giroux	2012–13[28]	1 !C
Pittsburgh Penguins	Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby	2007–08[29]	1 !C
St. Louis Blues	Pietrangelo, AlexAlex Pietrangelo	2016–17	4 !D
San Jose Sharks	Pavelski, JoeJoe Pavelski	2015–16[30]	1 !C/RW
Tampa Bay Lightning	Stamkos, StevenSteven Stamkos	2013–14[31]	1 !C
Toronto Maple Leafs	Vacant	2015–16	—
Vancouver Canucks	Sedin, HenrikHenrik Sedin	2010–11[32]	1 !C
Washington Capitals	Ovechkin, AlexanderAlexander Ovechkin	2009–10[33]	2 !LW
Winnipeg Jets	Wheeler, BlakeBlake Wheeler	2016–17	3 !RW

Alternate captains

Jordan Staal, an alternate captain of the Carolina Hurricanes

Tomas Plekanec, an alternate captain of the Montreal Canadiens

Joe Thornton, an alternate captain of the San Jose Sharks

List of current NHL Alternate Captains

Team	Alternate Captain(s)	Since	Pos
Anaheim Ducks	Kesler, RyanRyan Kesler	2015–16	1 !C
	Perry, CoreyCorey Perry	2014–15[34]	3 !RW
Arizona Coyotes	Ekman-Larsson, OliverOliver Ekman-Larsson	2014–15[35]	4 !D
	Hanzal, MartinMartin Hanzal	2011–12[36]	1 !C
Boston Bruins	Bergeron, PatricePatrice Bergeron	2006–07[37]	1 !C
	Krejci, DavidDavid Krejci	2013–14[38]	1 !C
Buffalo Sabres	Gorges, JoshJosh Gorges	2014–15[39]	4 !D
	O'Reilly, RyanRyan O'Reilly	2015–16	1 !C
Calgary Flames	Brouwer, TroyTroy Brouwer	2016–17	2 !RW
	Monahan, SeanSean Monahan	2015–16	1 !C
Carolina Hurricanes	Faulk, JustinJustin Faulk	2015–16	4 !D
	Rask, VictorVictor Rask	2016–17	1 !C
	Staal, JordanJordan Staal	2012–13[40]	1 !C
Skinner, JeffJeff Skinner	2016–17	2 !LW
Chicago Blackhawks	Keith, DuncanDuncan Keith	2008–09[41]	4 !D
Seabrook, BrentBrent Seabrook	2015–16[42]	4 !D
Colorado Avalanche	Beauchemin, FrancoisFrancois Beauchemin	2016–17[43]	4 !D
	Duchene, MattMatt Duchene	2016–17	1 !C
MacKinnon, NathanNathan MacKinnon	2016–17	1 !C
Columbus Blue Jackets	Dubinsky, BrandonBrandon Dubinsky	2012–13[44]	1 !C
	Jenner, BooneBoone Jenner	2015–16	1 !C
Dallas Stars	Sharp, PatrickPatrick Sharp	2016–17	2 !LW
	Spezza, JasonJason Spezza	2016–17	1 !C
Detroit Red Wings	Abdelkader, JustinJustin Abdelkader	2016–17	2 !LW
	Kronwall, NiklasNiklas Kronwall	2011–12[45]	4 !D
Edmonton Oilers	Eberle, JordanJordan Eberle	2012–13[46]	3 !RW
	Lucic, MilanMilan Lucic	2016–17[7]	2 !LW
	Nugent-Hopkins, RyanRyan Nugent-Hopkins	2015–16[47]	1 !C
Florida Panthers	Ekblad, AaronAaron Ekblad	2016–17[48]	4 !D
	Jokinen, JussiJussi Jokinen	2015–16	2 !LW
Los Angeles Kings	Carter, JeffJeff Carter	2016–17	1 !C/RW
	Doughty, DrewDrew Doughty	2016–17[49]	4 !D
Minnesota Wild	Parise, ZachZach Parise	2012–13[50]	2 !LW
	Suter, RyanRyan Suter	2012–13[50]	4 !D
Montreal Canadiens	Gallagher, BrendanBrendan Gallagher	2015–16[51]	3 !RW
	Markov, AndreiAndrei Markov	2008–09[51]	4 !D
	Plekanec, TomasTomas Plekanec	2014–15[52]	1 !C
	Weber, SheaShea Weber	2016–17[51]	4 !D
Nashville Predators
	Josi, RomanRoman Josi	2015–16[53]	4 !D
	Neal, JamesJames Neal	2014–15[54]	2 !LW
New Jersey Devils	Cammalleri, MichaelMichael Cammalleri	2015–16[24]	2 !LW
	Elias, PatrikPatrik Elias	2007–08[24]	2 !LW
	Henrique, AdamAdam Henrique	2015–16[24]	1 !C
	Zajac, TravisTravis Zajac	2013–14[24]	1 !C
New York Islanders
	Clutterbuck, CalCal Clutterbuck	2016–17[55]	3 !RW
	Hamonic, TravisTravis Hamonic	2016–17[55]	4 !D
Ladd, AndrewAndrew Ladd	2016–17[55]	2 !LW
New York Rangers	Girardi, DanielDaniel Girardi	2013–14[56]	4 !D
	Nash, RickRick Nash	2016–17	2 !LW
	Staal, MarcMarc Staal	2010–11[57]	4 !D
	Stepan, DerekDerek Stepan	2014–15[57]	1 !C
Ottawa Senators	Neil, ChrisChris Neil	2013–14[58]	3 !RW
	Phaneuf, DionDion Phaneuf	2016-17[59]	4 !D
Turris, KyleKyle Turris	2015–16	1 !C
Philadelphia Flyers	Simmonds, WayneWayne Simmonds	2014–15[60]	3 !RW
	Streit, MarkMark Streit	2014–15[60]	4 !D
Pittsburgh Penguins	Kunitz, ChrisChris Kunitz	2012–13[61]	2 !LW
	Malkin, EvgeniEvgeni Malkin	2008–09[62]	1 !C
St. Louis Blues	Shattenkirk, KevinKevin Shattenkirk	2016–17	4 !D
	Stastny, PaulPaul Stastny	2016–17	1 !C
	Steen, AlexanderAlexander Steen	2011–12	2 !LW
	Tarasenko, VladimirVladimir Tarasenko	2016–17	3 !RW
San Jose Sharks	Couture, LoganLogan Couture	2015–16	1 !C
	Thornton, JoeJoe Thornton	2014–15[63]	1 !C
Tampa Bay Lightning	Callahan, RyanRyan Callahan	2014–15	3 !RW
	rotating[lower-alpha 1]
Toronto Maple Leafs	Bozak, TylerTyler Bozak	2015–16[64]	1 !C
	Hunwick, MattMatt Hunwick	2015–16[65]	4 !D
	Komarov, LeoLeo Komarov	2016–17	2 !LW
Rielly, MorganMorgan Rielly	2016–17	4 !D
Vancouver Canucks	Burrows, AlexandreAlexandre Burrows	2015–16	3 !RW
Sedin, DanielDaniel Sedin	2010–11[66]	2 !LW
Washington Capitals	Backstrom, NicklasNicklas Backstrom	2010–11	1 !C
	Orpik, BrooksBrooks Orpik	2014–15[67]	4 !D
Winnipeg Jets	Byfuglien, DustinDustin Byfuglien	2016–17[68]	4 !D
	Scheifele, MarkMark Scheifele	2016–17	1 !C

Notes

References

Team rosters

Specific