I was in the process of getting my thoughts organized to post a similar article, but you've done such a good job that you've now freed up a chunk of my weekend! Thanks!
Ideally, I think the Habs should have a captain. Like you said, tradition. 100 years of having a captain.
That being said, I don't want to have a captain just for the sake of having a captain. It's got to mean something to the player, to his teammates, to the fans and to the coaches. Even the media need to respect the guy who wears the 'C'.
To me, the mere fact that we're having this drawn-out discussion only highlights the fact that no one is fit to wear the C right now. Markov is a shrinking violet, and is best just to focus on his stellar play.
The other guys are either (to me) not captain material (Hamrlik) or not ready yet (Lapierre).
If a captain is going to be put in place, and put to a vote, I think Gomez will win it. I believe that the guys who signed in Montreal because of Gomez coming to town will also vote for him to be captain.
Personally, I'd go with the rotating 'A's and let a natural leader emerge from the pack.
Remember back to the Transformers movie from '86. Before Optimus Prime died, he tried to pass leadership to Ultra Magnus, but he was not leadership material. Eventually, the natural leader, Hot Rod rose to the occasion and became the new Autobot leader. Important lesson here. 
I'm such a nerd.
Excellent post, and I'm sure we'll have a ton of discussion around this as "summer" marches on.
I think there should be a captain.
I'm not sure who exactly it "should" be.
Personally, I think it should be decided by the players, or players+coach during the pre-season.
Markov "should" at least get an A... at least I would think.
In my opinion, it's a brand new dressing room. They'll figure it out.
There's no one that stands out as a captain, as a leader that can do the things a Captain should do. Markov simply isn't the guy you want talking to the press and the officials. He will continue lead by example, which counts for a lot, but he's not the front-line guy.
A French captain is clearly out of the question. Latendresse is far from captain material, and if heart was all that counted, B
égin would have been wearing an "A" for years. I don't know that Lapierre is really captaincy-worthy.
I'd like to see a Captain that has two major traits - the unwavering respect of his teammates and a sense of responsibility to the team rather than a sense of entitlement from the team. Somebody that can and will stop ridiculous shit like stealing purses in bars. Someone to inspire a tough work ethic, especially in the young guys. I don't think we have anyone that can do that (and Stevey Y is retired), but hopefully we've shed a lot of the guys that have that sense of entitlement that destroys the work ethic.
Remembering your post from a couple days ago, it's clear why Koivu was giving dirty looks to Ribiero in the dressing room. Because he had a shit work ethic. When he moved to Dallas, kept his mouth shut in the locker room, and started hitting the gym instead of the bar, he not-so-magically transformed into a much better player.
Aside - let's have Gomez give interviews to the French press in Spanish. That would crack me up.
Topham:
This was originally a longer post that included some discussion about necessary and sufficient conditions for the habs captain. This then led to a discourse on what we might require of a sport's team captain in general. It then moved into why such a lens wouldn't work (namely your belief in the historical aspect/justification for a captaincy) and finally ended on a bit of a downer regarding your description of the captaincy as an honour bestowed on a special player on the team (where is he?)
After much indecision and revision (and before I let another minute elapse):
Yes the habs need a captain. It has nothing to do with letters on sweaters. In a perfect habs world we'd have 20 on any given night.
I agree with the 3 A's for the first bit of the season. Once everyone is comfortable with each other, a natural captain will either emerge, or they can vote just prior to the 100th anniversary.
Subdox, 20 captains? It'd be fun to watch but you'd need a major.
Every situation will produce a leader if you let it. I do agree that if they let the season get half way before the vote, a captain would emerge naturally. However, my feeling is that they should have someone wearing the C for teh fist 41 games as well -- and not really on a full-team rotation.
This team is working with a core that is set up for the next 5 years. Other than the older Kostitsyn, I don't see anyone challenging the top dog's [salaries] position for the next 3 years. After that, we'll see, but for now, the Captain will be in that group. Markov would be a very, very interesting candidate, but we all know it won't happen. Hamrlik is not there. Gomez is known as a character guy, is the top salary and the undisputed #1 center (arguably the most prestigious position)... If it isn't Gomez, it will be some dude out of the woodwork, à la Gorges or something.
An intersting side plot, no doubt about it.
I think that by voting all the same to choose a candidate and you will finally calm down and we are with you!
Commenting by HaloScan
