Speculation: Sabres captain after Gionta

[stokes84]

Ristolainin or Eichel, unless they don't think either are ready in two seasons, in which I bet they make Bogosian the next holdover guy.

Girgensons is a 100% effort guy who leads by example, but I'm not sure he has that natural charisma to be a young captain. Honestly, his interviews are kind of awkward because of how shy he is. I think he is a long time A guy.

 

[FearTheBeard]

One of these things is not like the other. Dustin Brown is probably the only non-elite player to captain a cup winning team.

yet he did it twice, go figure

 

[7 11 14]

Enough. Seriously.

I get the whole thingy about looking at the future and wishful thinking and all awesome gooey stuff, yadda yadda. But. Really. Enough.

How 'bout letting these kids get a year or two of NHL ice under their feet before pushing ahead so far into the future that you pile expectations onto shoulders that don't yet have a man's frame, much less are strong enough to carry your hopes?

Give them a break already. Geez.

This is so fricken typical of the common needy fan - needs a "hero" so much they can't let a kid just develop organically/naturally, just gotta be wanting more and more... And then OMG, what the crap if the kid doesn't magically evolve into the image that's been created! Sell him for pucks!

Girgensens had a good rookie year under very specific conditions that (hopefully) will never repeat; we have zero idea how he'll show up and what he'll develop into under a very different dynamic. Reinhart had 9 games under those same conditions; we don't even know if he'll show up as NHL-ready for 2015/2016, or if he'll be having his real rookie campaign in Gionta's retirement year of 2016/2017. Eitchel hasn't even yet stepped onto NHL ice.

But people are projecting these KIDS as the future "leaders" of the team already? wow.

This is what happens to a kid - drafted in the first round, fans and media go fruity with expectations, and if the kid doesn't meet those expectations, then presto, the kid under performed. Crazy.

There's always one...

 

[OkimLom]

I think there will be a captain after Gionta and before one of the core kids get it. I'm thinking Bogo or Ennis. Then each year the A's will reflect with the locker room atmosphere (possibly Girgs? UFA from this year/next year?).

Then when it's time for the core to take the reins of the team, I think Eichel and Reinhart will be in a similar situation as Briere/Drury, where they are THE go to guys for the team, but I think Reinhart will get a C in the same mold as Drury was looked at and Eichel getting the A similar to how Briere had the A, with probably Girgs having the other one.

 

[Russ Tyler]

Are you seriously trying to say that 2004 Dave Andreychuk was an "elite player"?

Andreychuck is the league's all time leader in PP goals. I would categorize that as elite. Maybe he wasn't in 2004, but he was a 20+ year vet at that point.

 

[HiddenInLight]

Zemgus without a doubt.

 

[Clock]

As always, please don't give it to anyone until it's obvious, post-Gionta.

Right now, it feels like Girgs. Next season is going to be very interesting to watch with everyone coming in. I think it'll be between Girgs, Reihart, and Eichel.

 

[Jame]

Ott for the home games, Vanek for the away game

that was hilarious

 

[Clock]

that was hilarious

That was depressing.

 

[Jame]

That was depressing.

If you just pretend it was an intentional tank move, it's not as depressing

But Thomas Vanek and Captain in the same sentence is hilarious either way

 

[couture23]

If Eichel turns into the player he's supposed to, then him.

 

[couture23]

If you just pretend it was an intentional tank move, it's not as depressing

But Thomas Vanek and Captain in the same sentence is hilarious either way

Imagine prime-Vanek with Eichel?

 

[Jame]

Imagine prime-Vanek with Eichel?

no thanks.

 

[B U F F A L O]

If you just pretend it was an intentional tank move, it's not as depressing

But Thomas Vanek and Captain in the same sentence is hilarious either way

I didn't post here or visit often during most of Vanek's tenure. How was his reception here? I was always critical of him. I feel the same way you're expressing. It's laughable that he would ever get captaincy. And I felt the same way about Ott. I never liked Ott. I hated how popular he was here amongst the fans.

 

[Husko]

Pominville was a good captain

 

[ZZamboni]

I didn't post here or visit often during most of Vanek's tenure. How was his reception here? I was always critical of him. I feel the same way you're expressing. It's laughable that he would ever get captaincy. And I felt the same way about Ott. I never liked Ott. I hated how popular he was here amongst the fans.

You should go back and read some of the threads when he was captain. There were some fans that actually loved the idea of Vanek as captain.

Pominville was a good captain

I disagree. I thought he was really meh. Not terrible. Not good.

 

[5 Minute Major]

Rasmus for me. Kid is ultra-talented and competitive.

 

[Sean McG]

How about "too early to tell" Eichel isn't even on the damn team yet and you're adding him to the list of potential captains??? How about we give these kids a few years to develop before you give them the C.

Enough. Seriously.

I get the whole thingy about looking at the future and wishful thinking and all awesome gooey stuff, yadda yadda. But. Really. Enough.

How 'bout letting these kids get a year or two of NHL ice under their feet before pushing ahead so far into the future that you pile expectations onto shoulders that don't yet have a man's frame, much less are strong enough to carry your hopes?

Give them a break already. Geez.

This is so fricken typical of the common needy fan - needs a "hero" so much they can't let a kid just develop organically/naturally, just gotta be wanting more and more... And then OMG, what the crap if the kid doesn't magically evolve into the image that's been created! Sell him for pucks!

Girgensens had a good rookie year under very specific conditions that (hopefully) will never repeat; we have zero idea how he'll show up and what he'll develop into under a very different dynamic. Reinhart had 9 games under those same conditions; we don't even know if he'll show up as NHL-ready for 2015/2016, or if he'll be having his real rookie campaign in Gionta's retirement year of 2016/2017. Eitchel hasn't even yet stepped onto NHL ice.

But people are projecting these KIDS as the future "leaders" of the team already? wow.

This is what happens to a kid - drafted in the first round, fans and media go fruity with expectations, and if the kid doesn't meet those expectations, then presto, the kid under performed. Crazy.

Always my favourite kind of posts on HOCKEY'S FUTURE boards. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of projecting what prospects are going to be on, I repeat, HOCKEY'S FUTURE, then I don't know what to tell you. That is essentially what this website and forum were made for. I don't even necessarily disagree with what you're saying, but what is it to you if people want to talk about this stuff? How hard is it to just contribute an answer and not complain about the topic? It's like the people who go on the trade proposal threads and just trash every one saying they're not going to happen - us talking about it isn't going to change anything. It's talk.


As for the thread, how many 'face of the franchise' players are not the captain of their team? Genuine question. Not every team has one, and it seems like those who do make them their captain. I fully expect that Jack will eventually become the captain, but it's pretty cool to be in a spot where Buffalo has some prospects that appear to be good potential captains, and it's not a given it will be Eichel.

 

[Doohickie]

Eichel in a knee-jerk reaction. If Gio keeps the C for another year I think it's even more likely it goes directly to Eichel.

Kind of nice that so many names are in the discussion, isn't it?

 

[Endless Ike]

If you have a guy who's one of the top 5 or 10 best players in the league, which seems to be what everyone expects out of Eichel at some point in his career, that player is the captain of your team. full stop.

maybe I'm nuts, but when has that player NOT been captain in favor of the hard skating meat and potatoes drops his glove guy?

 

[Dogewow]

Always my favourite kind of posts on HOCKEY'S FUTURE boards. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of projecting what prospects are going to be on, I repeat, HOCKEY'S FUTURE, then I don't know what to tell you. That is essentially what this website and forum were made for. I don't even necessarily disagree with what you're saying, but what is it to you if people want to talk about this stuff? How hard is it to just contribute an answer and not complain about the topic? It's like the people who go on the trade proposal threads and just trash every one saying they're not going to happen - us talking about it isn't going to change anything. It's talk.


As for the thread, how many 'face of the franchise' players are not the captain of their team? Genuine question. Not every team has one, and it seems like those who do make them their captain. I fully expect that Jack will eventually become the captain, but it's pretty cool to be in a spot where Buffalo has some prospects that appear to be good potential captains, and it's not a given it will be Eichel.

Good post. You're more than welcome to your own opinion but that whole rant is just unnecessary . I really don't see the harm in future speculation.

 

[Dogewow]

If you have a guy who's one of the top 5 or 10 best players in the league, which seems to be what everyone expects out of Eichel at some point in his career, that player is the captain of your team. full stop.

maybe I'm nuts, but when has that player NOT been captain in favor of the hard skating meat and potatoes drops his glove guy?

Also agreed.

 

[Zman5778]

As for the thread, how many 'face of the franchise' players are not the captain of their team? Genuine question. Not every team has one, and it seems like those who do make them their captain.

Not that I necessarily disagree with any of your post, but you asked a genuine question and I'll give a genuine answer (note: FOF = face of franchise):

LA Kings -- Brown is the captain, but I think Doughty or Kopitar are the FOF
Calgary -- Is Gio, Monahan or Johnny Hockey the FOF?
Buffalo -- Gionta's not the face. I think it's Zemgod, for now.
Oilers -- FOF is Hall or RNH, soon to be McJesus. Not Ference.
Panthers -- Luongo's probably FOF. Among skaters, it's NOT Mitchell
Minnesota -- Parise or Suter are probably FOF. Not Koivu any longer.
Devils -- FOF isn't Salvador....not sure who it is really.


So, there's 2-4 legit FOFs that aren't the captain of their teams...LA's the most notable, IMO.

So while Eichel is likely to be the FOF in the future, it wouldn't be unheard of if someone else were captain.

 

[Zman5778]

If you have a guy who's one of the top 5 or 10 best players in the league, which seems to be what everyone expects out of Eichel at some point in his career, that player is the captain of your team. full stop.

maybe I'm nuts, but when has that player NOT been captain in favor of the hard skating meat and potatoes drops his glove guy?

As said above, the only real case I can make is LA with Kopitar. Maybe Minnesota with Parise/Koivu.

MAYBE, MAYBE you can make a case that Pat Kane is the face of Chicago.....but I personally think it's Toews.

 

[Doohickie]

I didn't post here or visit often during most of Vanek's tenure. How was his reception here? I was always critical of him. I feel the same way you're expressing. It's laughable that he would ever get captaincy. And I felt the same way about Ott. I never liked Ott. I hated how popular he was here amongst the fans.

Vanek was a finisher and a floater. At his best he was invisible until he scored. This is good, but don't expect a strong backcheck and don't ask him to be captain. It's just not what he is. Shanahan & Hull played a similar style.

As for Ott, he brought some backbone to a spineless team. Naturally he'd be a fan favorite.