Who's ready to fill the role of captain?

Best bet could be to let alternates develop in leadership roles during roster reset

When the legendary Henrik Sedin concluded a miraculous career by leaving on his retirement terms in 2018, he also left the captaincy of the Vancouver Canucks in question.

After all, how do you replace a focused, friendly and frank franchise icon, who led by example on and off the ice, was a voice of reason in the room and a champion of charitable causes in the community? The Canucks had an answer. The following season they deployed four alternate captains — Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter, Alex Edler and Chris Tanev — though Horvat thought he was ready for the role as captain following four years of tutelage from the Sedins. That would come to fruition the following year, but in the interim he still had to look, listen and learn.

Which brings us to the existing captaincy void.

When Horvat was traded to the New York Islanders on Monday, it not only ignited debate on the transaction return, it sparked suggestions of who should become the 15th captain in franchise history.

A Province Sports poll revealed that 54.02 per cent of respondents favoured Elias Pettersson, 18.63 per cent liked Luke Schenn — if the pending unrestricted free agent remains — and 13.8 per cent voted for J.T. Miller. The Other category, which likely included Quinn

Hughes, was at 13.55 per cent. There should have been another voting suggestion. How about not naming a captain this season, next summer or even next season?

With the Canucks expected to remain active on the trade front at the March 3 deadline and the summer's entry draft, a roster reset under new head coach Rick Tocchet will continue to unfold. There shouldn't be a rush to name a Horvat successor because with the position in this market, demands are daily and the pressure is immense.

It's customary to present the C to one of your best players because it's a natural way to award leading by example. It's what Henrik Sedin, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden did to critical acclaim, but all three first served as alternates before facing a sea of microphones

as captain. Pettersson's progress as an evolving star makes the prolific centre an obvious consideration for the captaincy, especially with a hockey operations pledge to ice a younger roster. However, media responsibilities aren't an easy transition for any young player, especially after a loss and facing probing questions.

It's the same for Hughes, whose game is dynamic and knowledge exceptional. But is he ready for the constant scrutiny and responsibility? Henrik Sedin stood before the media after every loss to take the heat and after a win he would allow others to soak up the adulation.

“Playing in a Canadian market is definitely a challenge, but a lot of younger players have grown into it,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin. “Every leader is different. Hopefully, performing on the ice will lead this group more than talking off the ice.”

Allvin acknowledged alternate captains Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Myers and Miller could remain in place the rest of this season to form the leadership group, unless Tocchet wants to go in another direction.

What is happening here is a culture change. How Pettersson, 24, and Hughes, 23, become a bigger part of it remains to be seen. Miller,

Every leader is different. Hopefully, performing on the ice will lead this group more than talking off the ice.

29, could remain an alternate captain.

“We have some players in Pettersson and Hughes, who are ready to step up and be part of the leadership and their performances on the ice certainly show it,” said Allvin. “It's something we can build on with having more younger players taking on bigger roles with this group.”

Tocchet likes Schenn, who is cut for the same competitive cloth, and if he returns it would help Pettersson and Hughes better understand the amount of preparation and professionalism that goes into becoming a greater presence on the ice and in the room.

When Henrik and Daniel Sedin saw the advancement of Horvat to embrace every challenge, they knew he was ready for the captaincy.

“We saw a lot of young guys come up,” said Henrik.

“Most are good players and they want to score and some that have that extra dimension to them where they see more of a big picture. They think differently than those guys and he (Horvat) was one of them for sure.”

The advice Horvat received then remains relevant today for the next Canucks captain.

“First of all, be yourself,” stressed Henrik. “Bo got picked because he is who he is. That's what they told me when I became the captain and it's been good that they've seen him (Horvat) for a few years. If someone comes in and you pick him right away, you don't really know what kind of guy he is.” Overtime: The NHL has confirmed Horvat will participate in South Florida at the all-star weekend. Though he's now an Islander of the Metropolitan Division, he'll play for the Pacific Division, meaning he'll be Pettersson's teammate one last time.