The current NHL captains for every franchise

Often, young, up-and-coming teams will name a rising star the captain, in hopes they are in the role for a long time i.e. the Sidney Crosby plan. Anaheim did not go that route. Instead, with veteran defenseman Radko Gudas returning to Florida, 34-year-old Finnish center Granlund was thrust into the role. This is his second season with the Ducks, so is he just keeping the “C” warm for someone else?

After Zdeno Chara's lengthy reign, a couple of veteran Bruins had short tenures in the role. After being without a captain after Brad Marchand went to Florida, that makes us 2-for-2 on teams replacing captains after the prior captain went down to play for Florida; Boston made the obvious choice of going with Pastrnak. He’s just entered his thirties, he’s a career Bruin, and he’ll soon have 1,000 career points and is probably headed to the Hall of Fame. A run as captain in Boston is well-deserved.

The rise of the Sabres last season coincided with a rise in people realizing that Dahlin is really good. He’s now the standout captain of a team many people root for in a secondary way. This is Dahlin third season as captain, and soon enough he might also have a Norris trophy to his name.

Another guy named Mikael already! This Mikael is Swedish, and he’s been Calgary’s captain since the 2023-24 season. Backlund turns 38 this season, though, so the Flames may need a new captain soon, and no young player has really emerged yet.

Staal just lifted the Stanley Cup as the Hurricanes' captain. Of course, prior to that, he lifted the Conn Smythe as an improbable playoff MVP. He and his brother Eric are Hurricanes legends, and Jordan has been captain since 2019-20 and likely will be until he retires.

Here is a new captain for 2026-27, and one of those cases of going with the young guy. Chicago was hyped to draft Bedard, a much-vaunted prospect, with the first overall pick in 2023. He’s struggled to live up to the incredible hype, but he’s been really good; he won the Calder, and he’s the captain of the Blackhawks at the age of 21. If things go right, he’ll be captain for a long time.

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are the stars, future Hall of Famers with plenty of trophies. Landeskog, though, is the longtime Colorado captain. The Swede has held the role since the 2012-13 season, back when the franchise was moribund. They didn’t take the “C” away from Landeskog when injuries derailed his career, so he'll keep it until he retires, one assumes. Then it’ll probably be Makar. He’s got that contract, after all.

Here is the first vacancy. Jenner had been a career Blue Jacket, and the depth center served as captain from 2021 through the 2025-26 season. He signed with Washington in the offseason, though, and with Zach Werenski requesting a trade, then rescinding that request, and Adam Fantilli a restricted free agent until right before the season started, there wasn’t an obvious choice to pass the role on to.

Benn was once a high-level player, winning the Art Ross in his second season as captain in Dallas. He became captain in the 2013-14 season. These days, he’s more of a solid depth forward, but he has that veteran presence, and he signed a one-year deal to stay with the Stars and stay captain, so he’s still in the role.

This is an unusual story, as the Red Wings don’t have a captain and have the previous captain on the roster. Larkin captained the Red Wings, his hometown team, for a few years. Then, with several years left on his contract, Larkin requested a trade and only agreed to move to a couple of franchises. The Wings didn’t trade him, and then they took away his captaincy. So, you know, not the best of vibes in the Motor City right now.

You know, the best player in hockey, one of the best players of all time, the youngest captain in NHL history, all that stuff? McDavid has captained Edmonton since the 2016-17 season. He will be captain as long as he is an Oiler, and he will be an Oiler as long as they are title contenders. Which, well, the clock is ticking on that.

The Panthers were sans a captain last season, but not because the role was open. Barkov, a future Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive centers ever, missed the entire 2025-26 season with a knee injury. Captain since 2018-19, though, Barkov is back, and he’s hoping to lift the Cup for a third time in four seasons.

This captaincy will likely be short-lived, but a well-deserved “thanks for everything.” Doughty has been a King since 2008, winning a Norris and two Cups. However, for the last decade, the captain has been another future Hall of Famer and career King, Anze Kopitar. With Kopitar now retired, Doughty has been given the honor of wearing the “C,” but given that he will turn 37 during the 2026-27 season, it likely won’t be a long run.

The Wild have only had two captains, for all intents and purposes. Mikko Koivu was a really good, but not great, center. Then defenseman Spurgeon took over for the 2020-21 season and has held the role ever since. He’s good. He’s been around for a while. Spurgeon may also be the captain least likely to be named by your average NHL fan.

The Canadiens nailed this selection. Suzuki became captain in 2022-23, and even a franchise fan base that loves French-speaking Quebecois in positions of esteem has to be happy with Suzuki. As captain, he’s had two 30-goal seasons, and he just had his first 100-point campaign. Suzuki is great, and he’s still only 27.

Josi has been captain of Nashville since the 2017-18 season. Time flies and all that. The defenseman is now 36 and has captained the Predators for a decade. Josi has played in over 1,000 games, all with Nashville, so hopefully he retires as a one-franchise player, one who gets his number retired.

Hischier benefited from being a first-overall pick and reaching New Jersey before Jack Hughes. It also helps that Hischier is better defensively and less likely to get hurt. Hischier, a strong center if not the dynamic player Hughes is, has more of a captain profile. He’s been in that role for the Devils since 2020-21.

Anders Lee left the Islanders for the Mammoth, and while we wish the Islanders had pulled the trigger and named Matthew Schaefer captain, they opted to give Horvat that job instead. While he was a Canuck for a long time, he’s entering his fourth full season with the Islanders and has two 30-goal seasons to his name, so he’s not a bad choice for the role, especially since he was previously the captain for the Canucks.

Another former Canuck now captains the New York Rangers; Miller’s reputation with his former team wasn’t great, but things seem to be going fine in the Big Apple. This is only Miller’s second full season (back) with the Rangers, but he only replaced Jacob Trouba, an unremarkable player to be an NHL captain, so it seems reasonable enough. The surprising thing is that he got the role in 2025-26, his first full season with New York after the move from Vancouver.

Ottawa’s last couple of captains had the same trajectory. Erik Karlsson moved on via trade, and then Brady Tkachuk did the same to play with his brother in, yes, Florida. As such, for the 2026-27 season, the Senators have a new captain in Chabot. Maybe Ottawa thinks it’s safe this time: the defenseman is about to turn 30, he’s a career Senator, and he’s unlikely to move until he’s a veteran chasing a ring, if at all. Chabot might be in the role for at least a few seasons.

Couturier has remained captain thanks to coaching from John Tortorella and Rick Tocchet. That’s a guy with some leadership cachet. Of course, by the time he became captain in 2023-24, his best days were behind him. Couturier used to be a strong scoring center, and he won a Selke in the 2019-20 season, but he missed the entire 2022-23 season with a back issue, and since returning, he’s been more of a secondary center type, but also the captain in Philly.

Truly, one of the iconic captains. Crosby is up there with Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic- you name them. He’s been the captain since the 2007-08 season. He’s one of the best players in NHL history and a career Penguin. Crosby won individual awards. He won Cups. He has never appeared in a political ad for Vladimir Putin. Crosby is the NHL icon of his generation, and the face of hockey in the new millennium.

The Sharks have a new captain, and as for the choice, we can only say: duh. Celebrini is taking up the torch as one of hockey's faces. He had 115 points in his age-19 season. Celebrini will win an Art Ross. He will win a Hart. He may lift a Cup with the Sharks. If he does, he will be the first captain to do so, and he’s only 20 years old.

The Kraken have not had the best history thus far, a more traditional expansion franchise than the Golden Knights, who took advantage of a lot of teams being really stupid about that expansion draft. Eberle, a solid player with an unremarkable career, has captained Seattle since the 2024-25 season. The Kraken still hope a young, homegrown player will be ready to take the role.

Our new captain for the 2026-27 season. Last year, rumors circulated that Thomas might be moving to a new team. Now, he’s the captain of the Blues. It makes sense if he’s going to stick around. So many teams wanted him because he’s a point-per-game center and is only 27. If everything works out, this move could work well.

After a decade as captain, Steven Stamkos joined the Predators, and longtime Lightning defenseman Hedman stepped in. The big Swede has captained since the 2024-25 season, and while the 2025-26 campaign was a lost one for him, he’s a franchise legend and will wear the “C” until he retires.

The Maple Leafs have seen a lot of turnover off the ice, and some on it, but Matthews has been there through it all. An elite goal scorer, Matthews has two 60-goal seasons to his name, and he only just turned 29. The American has captained Toronto since the 2024-25 season and will likely remain in that role…for as long as he stays with the franchise.

The move from Arizona to Utah completely changed this franchise. So much so that the Mammoth left Arizona’s history in the desert behind to be considered an expansion team. New look, new logo, and newfound success. Also, after the team went without a captain during its wayward last days in Arizona, Keller was named Utah's captain as soon as the team was born. He has been in the role ever since.

Bo Horvat? Moved to the Islanders? Quinn Hughes? Moved to the Wild. Since the deal that ended with Hughes in Minnesota, the Canucks have been without a captain and without a good choice to replace him. It can’t be Elias Pettersson, but maybe Brock Boeser? This is a rebuilding team, though, so not having a captain isn’t unreasonable.

The Golden Knights didn’t have a captain for a few years, and then they named Stone captain for the 2020-21 season; since then, he has been the only player in that role. While you can pencil him in for at least 15 games lost to injury every year, Stone has served the role well for Vegas.

Off-ice controversy aside, on the ice Ovechkin is an all-time great, arguably the best goal scorer in NHL history, and Washington D.C.’s all-time sporting legend. He’s been the Capitals' captain since the 2009-10 season, and it will be bizarre in the nation’s capital when he finally retires and heads back to Russia.

In 2023-24, the Jets made what used to be a more common decision, but has become rare. Namely, they named a gritty, middle-pairing forward as captain. Lowry has never had more than 36 points in a season. He was already in his thirties when he was named captain. There were other options, better players, but Lowry is the guy in Winnipeg.