Who Should Wear an 'A' for the New York Rangers?

If you're like me, you've come to the conclusion that either Chris Drury or Scott Gomez will end up having the distinction of being named the 25th captain of the New York Rangers before the start of the season, with the other player being designated as an assistant captain. So the question is: Who gets the other "A" on their sweater?

Let's look at the contenders...

The Favorites

Markus Naslund
Positives: Naslund was named captain of the Vancouver Canucks before the 2000 season (after the departure of Mark Messier) and held the title for the duration of his career in Vancouver. Naslund is a Lester B. Pearson Award winner (2003) and former Hart Memorial Trophy nominee (2003). He is also a three-time First-Team All-Star, chosen each season from 2002 to 2004. After being traded to Vancouver in 1996, he became the franchise leader in goals and points. In 11 seasons with the Canucks, he was named team-MVP five times and led the team in scoring for seven consecutive seasons—both team records.
Negatives: Naslund finished last season with his lowest points total since 1997-98 and apparently became frustrated with coach Alain Vigneault's defensive coaching style. I guess Naslund didn't watch many Ranger games last year, because if he became frustrated with a defensive coaching style in Vancouver, it's not going to be much different here.

Michal Rozsival
Positives: Rozsival is the longest-tenured Rangers defenseman and just recently signed a four-year, $20 million contract. Rozsival's defining moment with the Rangers was his overtime winner against Buffalo in Game Three of the 2007 Eastern Conference semifinals.
Negatives: Rozsival is coming off of offseason surgery and his worst year defensively. Rozsival frustrated fans all year with his hesitancy to shoot on the power play. While he ended the season with a career-high 13 goals, most Rangers fans will tell you he should have had close to 20.

Wade Redden
Positives: In 1999, Redden was named alternate captain of the Senators, a position he held for his remaining nine seasons with the team. Redden scored double-digit goals in five of the six seasons between 1999 and 2006, during which time he was one of the premier power play quarterbacks in the league. He is a two-time All-Star and was part of a strong defensive pairing in Ottawa's run to the finals in 2007. He also just signed a six-year, $39 million contract, meaning he'll be manning the Rangers power play for a long time.
Negatives: After scoring double-digit goals in five of the six seasons between 1999 and 2006, Redden has not scored more than seven in the last two seasons. Last year, Redden was an assistant captain on a Senators team that absolutely folded down the stretch, and he lied to Ottawa fans when he said he'd take a hometown discount to stay right before signing with the Rangers.

The Dark Horses

Brandon Dubinsky
Positives: Dubinsky, in his first full year as a Rangers rookie, ended the season centering the team's top line. He was one of 16 rookies selected to participate in the 2008 YoungStars competition at the 56th NHL All-Star Game, and he earned the Steven McDon

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