Chicago Blackhawks fans overwhelmingly want one player to be next captain

Out of all the options, fans who took The Athletic’s survey from Mark Lazerus really want Connor Bedard to be the next captain after Nick Foligno. The young star is the face of the franchise, so he should be its official leader, too.

He earned an astonishing 41.4% of all votes. There were some other interesting, worthy candidates, but none got as much love as Bedard. “Jonathan Toews was 20 years old when he was named captain of the Blackhawks, and Bedard — with his work ethic, his intensity, and his skills — has a similar vibe at the same age. Not surprisingly, most fans think his captaincy is inevitable,” Lazerus wrote.

Lazerus also noted that Alex Vlasic has “emerged as a locker-room leader” and thereby got a little over 25% of the votes. Fans would support his ascension to the captain’s role in all likelihood. “The ascendant [Frank] Nazar and stalwart [Connor] Murphy were in a virtual tie after that,” he added.

Murphy is by far the longest-tenured Blackhawks player right now, and he therefore has a ton of respect from his teammates. Unfortunately, he’s also entering the last year of his contract and may not even finish the entire season with the Hawks. “Beyond that, it was a lot of ‘too early to tell’ and a smattering of Donato votes. Tommy Hawk received a vote,” Lazerus concluded.

But the overwhelming majority want Bedard to take the role next, and that is not a surprise. He’s been their star and the only player keeping them nationally relevant since he arrived two seasons ago. He’s worked hard and earned their respect, and he could be the next very young NHL captain. No matter what, he seems destined for that role even if it comes a few years down the road.