Proposal: Should Drew be our Captain?

[Albi]

He might not be the perfect captain, but IMO he'd be much better than Kopitar and he's the best option among our veterans. He's showing he cares, he's having a great season, he leads by example.

Your turn folks...

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[King'sPawn]

No.

 

[Bandit]

No

 

[The Gabe Blade]

Nope Dot Com

 

[AlphaBravo]

I have thought about this, but Drew is too volatile to be captain. Kopitar is more of a steady voice that represents the team. Drew is super competitive and the heart and soul of our team IMO. Whether he is captain or not, he will make that comment and call out others when appropriate. He is fine wearing the A. Carter, on the other hand, should be stripped of that letter. I actually wouldn't mind giving the A to JAD in a year or two if he can keep up the energy and pace.

 

[Lt Dan]

 

[123slam]

Brown should still be captain.

 

[KingsFan7824]

In 2024? Sure, why not.

 

[Mats26]

At least we got the conversation going. I said it before that this team needs a leadership change for the next wave of prospects. Add some new vets with a different voice and I would put an A on a young deserving kid.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

Negative.

 

[Jason Squirties]

Nah, not Drew, who though? A bigger discussion around leadership, team mentality and culture is probably overdue but part of me thinks that will start to change naturally as the young guys move in. However, the fear in hoping it changes is that having it stay the same is a much larger issue long term. The question needs to be asked, why don't most of these guys want to stand up for each other? It seems way more like fellowship and IMHO and maybe selfishly, is that it should feel or look more like a brotherhood.

 

[Bandit]

Of the "next wave" Turcotte is probably the best candidate for the C, if we keep him. Carter's A should be on someone else's jersey next season (if it were up to me it would be next game).

 

[Telos]

Maybe, if Kopitar, Carter, and Brown disappeared, which they inevitably might given Drew is the youngest, then maybe he can wear the C for his final years, but not ideally.

The C should never have been taken from Brown. He is still clearly the leader and exudes everything you'd want in a captain. The fact that he doesn't have it is a little bit of a stain on the organization, to be honest.

In the end, the C will be dictated by our young future players though. Sure, someone like Turcotte may fit the mold, but they gotta earn it. There's no telling at this point to see who will emerge as the leader. Unfortunately, it is set as-is, but there's no one that particularly stands out and there's still a lot of time to find the next one. Vilardi's stock is down, but he would be a contender if he sticks, Toby, Byfield, Turcotte, maybe even Akil Thomas, would all be in discussion...

 

[The Butcher]

Only if we traded Kopi.

Stripping the C off someone who has given everything to this franchise is something I never want to see again.

Let's not forget our current GM is the only player in Kings history to strip the C off his own jersey because he wasn't offered enough money. Equally shitty in my opinion.

The captaincy is important but a team of leaders is what we need.

 

[LAKings88]

Nah, he still can lead tho.

 

[Mats26]

Brown and Carter are gone next year. We need to fill that void with a new younger vet or 2 and create a new leadership group for that young core.
Doughy will be around for the next 6 years. We are stuck with that contract and as long as he is playing well he'll get the C after Kopitar.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

It would be awesome to have two C's at one time. Don't know if that's ever happened but Doughty deserves it.

 

[onlyalad]

It would be awesome to have two C's at one time. Don't know if that's ever happened but Doughty deserves it.

I don’t think that’s allowed. You could assign 3 As and no C.

 

[Statto]

The C should never have been taken from Brown. He is still clearly the leader and exudes everything you'd want in a captain. The fact that he doesn't have it is a little bit of a stain on the organization, to be honest.

I agree, but those responsible aren’t here and fixing it would be doing the same thing in effect and it cannot be undone unfortunately.

There needs to be a new alternate Captain next season assuming Carter is done (surely?!), so I’d just give it to Brown in the short term. It’s just too early to given it to someone like JAD, Anderson or Björnfot, I mean, who else is there? Roy? Kempe? I have no idea if either fits that role.

 

[Maynard]

Doughty has toned down the whining this year and that’s so great to see. Earlier in the season I heard Fox talking about how Drew realized that he was embarrassing himself with how he was acting. These sound like big moments of self realization which is huge. Another year or two in this direction. and maybe he’ll be right for the C.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Would never remove the C from Anze, he'll retire it when he does.

Then it should be Drew for the rest of his career. Surefire HoFer, has seen it all, plays half the game with pride and emotion. , is finally starting to mature. He's an A and that's good for now.

Someone needs to take it from Carter though, would be nice to see on one of the youngsters, but I could see that one going to Roy.

It will be a long time before it happens but is' almost certain some combo of Turcotte, Anderson, Bjornfot, JAD will be wearing something at some point.

 

[Herby]

We already embarrassed one of the all-time greats in franchise history by removing the C from his jersey, lets not invade Russia again.

 

[BigKing]

This is the first year where he's acted like wearing it wouldn't be an embarrassment to the team. Like seeing what looks like some maturation finally but, you know, that could all change once Calgary is on the schedule again.

We don't have a problem with letters on this team: we have an issue with who will wear one after these current dudes. Turcotte seems like one based on playing style but that's kind of the point: nobody else's playing style screams "future captain".

 

[AlphaBravo]

Brown and Carter are gone next year. We need to fill that void with a new younger vet or 2 and create a new leadership group for that young core.
Doughy will be around for the next 6 years. We are stuck with that contract and as long as he is playing well he'll get the C after Kopitar.

I think Brown will sign a team friendly low-cap deal to stay with the Kings when his contract is up. I am all for that as a vet presence, physical player, who is at a minimum still good for our third and fourth lines down the road. Carter on the other hand will likely retire once his deal is up (or if we buy him out).

 

[Statto]

This is the first year where he's acted like wearing it wouldn't be an embarrassment to the team. Like seeing what looks like some maturation finally but, you know, that could all change once Calgary is on the schedule again.

We don't have a problem with letters on this team: we have an issue with who will wear one after these current dudes. Turcotte seems like one based on playing style but that's kind of the point: nobody else's playing style screams "future captain".

I don’t think a Captain needs a specific playing style because there are plenty of ways to inspire teammates. However whilst they obviously need to be a decent player in your top 6 F/top 4 D and they need to leave it out there every game but after that it’s mostly about what happens in the room. The leadership group does need to do a bit of everything but that’s different to the Captaincy, that group needs to drive the character of the team and set the overall tone. No one man does that.

In terms of leadership and character our young core is in great shape. None of Turcotte, Byfield, Thomas, Anderson & Björnfot would be a surprising choice as a future Captain at this point and they will form a great leadership group setting the tone we need for the team. They’ve all Captained teams, I believe, which says a lot about them as a group. LWhat is arguably currently missing in that group is someone that can hit, fight and agitate in the right ‘clutch’ moments to rile the team up. Once we get someone like that we couldn’t ask for much more from a leadership group but this is a long way from the finished article of a roster and those traits are something you can acquire in a trade or in FA if needed. However, like the on-ice piece it’s far too early to really say how these guys will truly step up as leaders at the NHL level.