Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Blackhawks offer admirable reason for not naming a team captain

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/19/23

The Chicago Blackhawks are one of seven NHL teams currently without a captain, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.

Per general manager Kyle Davidson, the Blackhawks will play the 2023 season without a team captain out of respect for former captain Jonathan Toews, who recently announced he could take the 2023 season off before returning to the NHL in 2024.

"The only plan right now is to sort of just let it breathe for a year," Davidson told reporters on Tuesday. "We came off such a successful tenure with Jonathan that a little bit of it is just out of respect for Jonathan to not fill that spot right away. … There's no requirement to have a captain, and so we just felt that it was best to leave that, push that decision a little bit, we'll let the chips fall where they may."

The two likeliest candidates for the position in 2024 are defenseman Seth Jones and 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard.

Seth Jones on the possibility of being the next #Blackhawks Captain pic.twitter.com/3COlvkRpGv
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) April 14, 2023

This will mark the first time since 2007 that the Blackhawks won’t have a captain. Toews was awarded the honor in 2008 and his 15-year run as captain was the longest in franchise history.

“[We don’t want to] put that pressure on someone else when you're coming out of a period of such — call it greatness, right?” Davidson continued. “And you want the next person to be in a position to succeed. ... 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.”

Chicago, which could have one of the youngest rosters in the league on opening night, has a series of alternate captains in place to serve as the team’s leadership group throughout the season.

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