New Captains

With so much movement of players this off-season there are some teams that will be looking to name a new captain to lead their team in the future and hopefully to the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup Championship.

Anaheim Ducks- It looks like Scott Niedermayer has full-filled his career by helping his brother, Rob win a Stanley Cup and will probably retire. Teemu Selanne who would be the captain on the Ducks is Niedermayer wasn't there is also probably going to retire. So the Ducks have a lack of leadership too. Possible players to be named the captain are Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Todd Marchant, Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin.
My Pick is Chris Pronger even though I hate him, because he has the most experience out of all the other guys and he is their best player.He was huge in the playoffs even though he is a dirty player but contributed huge when the Ducks needed him. When you think of the Ducks, you think of Pronger, now.

Atlanta Thrashers- Scott Mellenby also retired this offseason so the Thrashers also are looking for a new captain. Possible players to be named the captain are Niclas Havelid, Slava Kozlov, Bobby Holik and Marian Hossa.
My Pick is Slava Kozlov because he is really the only player on the Thrashers who has played in a ton of playoff games and won a Stanley Cup not including Bobby Holik, but he was so valuable to the Thrashers and to Marian Hossa who if the Thrashers lock up long term could be the captain in the future.

Buffalo Sabres- Co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere both bolted in the offseason, leaving the Sabres with a lack of leadership. Possible players to be named the captain are Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Teppo Numinen and Toni Lydman.
My Pick is Brian Campbell because he just seems ready to take the captaincy. He has been with the Sabres his whole career and is probably their best defensemen. He seems ready to take the next step in his career.

Chicago Blackhawks- The Hawks traded away their often injured captain Adrian Aucion to the Flames this off-season, so they will be looking to fill in their captain spot. Possible players to be named the captain are Martin Havlat, Martin Lapointe, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith or newly acquired Kevyn Adams.
My Pick is Martin Havlat because this is Martin Havlat's team. Dave Tallon and the Blackhawks organization are building a team around him. Havlat only played in 56 games last year but still managed to lead the team in points and was clearly their MVP.

Edmonton Oilers- The Oilers traded away the heart and soul of their defense, Jason Smith to the Flyers this offseason to acquire young puck moving defensemen Joni Pitkanen, A dumb move in my opinion on Lowe's part. Anyways, possible players to be named the captain are Jarret Stoll, Ethan Moreau, Shawn Horcoff, Fernando Pisani and Steve Staios.
My Pick is Jarret Stoll because the Oilers lost lots of their heart and soul last year by trading away Ryan Smyth and Jason Smith. They still have Ethan Moreau but Stoll is young and plays with his heart and soul on his sleeve. He is ready to take the next step too and is alot like Brendan Morrow in Dallas.

Los Angeles Kings- The Kings traded away their captain Mattias Norstrom to the Dallas Stars away back at the trade deadline and haven't named a new one since. Possible players to be named the captain are Rob Blake, Mike Cammalleri, Lubomir Visnovsky and Scott Thornton.
My Pick is Rob Blake because he is clearly the veteran of this very young team. He only has a couple of years left so he will be able to help one of the younger guys, so that they can become captain when he retires.

Nashville Predators- The Preds realized in the offseason that they wouldn't be able to afford their captain Kimmo Timonen, so they traded his rights to the Philadelphia Flyers. Possible players to be named the captain are Jason Arnott, Steve Sullivan, Shea Weber, J-P Dumont and Dan Hamhuis.
My Pick is Shea Weber because he is young and is one of the best young players on the Preds very very young team. Yea you could say give it to Jason Arnott but he can still stay as an assistant at least. Just with all the moves the Preds made this offseason getting rid of their vets(Timonen, Forsberg, Vokoun etc.) the Preds have made themselves a young team and why not let a young guy like Weber carry them.

Philadelphia Flyers- Since the Flyers season was so miserable last year, they traded their captain Peter Forsberg to the Preds at the trade deadline. They named Derian Hatcher the captain for the rest of the season but I guess it is up for grabs again. Possible players to be named the captain are Derian Hatcher, Simon Gagne, Daniel Briere, Mike Knuble, Mike Richards, Sami Kapanen, Kimmo Timonen and Jason Smith. Man this team is loaded with leadership.
My Pick is Simon Gagne because even though they signed Briere to a huge contract this season and acquired a ton of leadership in Jason Smith and Kimmo Timonen, Gagne is the face of this franchise. He is just another player ready to take the next step in his career after posting back to back 40 goal seasons.

St.Louis Blues- Blues former captain Dallas Drake was seen as a player who they could dump this offseason. Thus the Blues bought-out his contract and they are now looking for a new captain. Erik Johnson could be the Blues captain in a couple of years but isn't ready yet considering his is only a rookie. Possible players to be named the captain are Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, Paul Kariya, Barret Jackman, Jay McKee, Eric Brewer and Jamal Mayers.
My Pick is Doug Weight this one was a tough choice, I wanted to say McKee but Weight couldn't be passed on with me. I just think Weight recently won the Cup with the Hurricanes so he knows what needs to be done to win in the new NHL and even though the Blues traded him to the Canes that year, he signed right back with the Blues during that offseason. So obviously Weight wants to be a part of the Blues and the Blues want him to be a part of their team.