Ranking the 10 Best Captains in the NHL
No sport reveres leadership more than the NHL. Being named the captain of a team is a distinguished honor, and the responsibilities that go with it both on and off the ice are numerous. When things are going great, it's up to the captain to fete teammates—but when struggles happen, it's also up to them to right the ship.
Rightly or wrongly, the captain is the face of the team and meant to be the one who best represents the organization. It's a recognition that's not taken lightly either.
Heck, there are six teams (Anaheim, Buffalo, Chicago, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Utah) that don't have a captain because choosing the right one means something.
After seeing the Toronto Maple Leafs name Auston Matthews as their new captain last week, it spurred us to rank the top 10. Our criteria for this are simple: Captains with strong personal performance, strong team performance as well as delivering on-ice or in-room examples of leadership will have the edge. And, no, we won't be taking the Mark Messier Leadership Award into consideration to sway any arguments. Sorry, Mess.
10. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
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Captain since: 2012-2013
Gabriel Landeskog is the ultimate example of how to guide a team through rough times and on to success. He was named captain of the Colorado Avalanche at 19 years old. At that time, he was the youngest player to be named a team captain in NHL history, a record since broken (by 20 days) by Connor McDavid.
It took until 2014 for Landeskog and the Avalanche to make the playoffs, and that year they were ousted in the first round in seven games by the Minnesota Wild. Their success that season was thought to signal a change back to good times, but Colorado missed the playoffs the next three seasons and finished with the worst record in the NHL in 2016-2017.
That dismal season led the Avalanche to the draft lottery, where they did not win the top pick and fell to fourth. Funny thing is, it allowed them to take Cale Makar to join Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon. They haven't missed the playoffs since and won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
We haven't seen Landeskog on the ice since the Avs won that Cup two years ago, and the team hasn't taken the "C" off him while he works his way back from a catastrophic knee injury. Perseverance is a big part of being a leader. and Landeskog is the poster boy for that. There's no doubt the Avalanche will get a massive boost when he returns at some point this season.
9. Anders Lee, New York Islanders
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Captain since: 2018-2019
Although he may not get all the attention in New York City thanks to the presence of the New York Rangers, Anders Lee has become one of the exemplary captains during his time guiding the New York Islanders.
The Islanders have been a fascinating team for many years, but during the truncated pandemic seasons, Lee's leadership shone through in helping them to the semifinals of the bubble playoffs in 2020, where they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. A torn ACL cost him the opportunity to beat the Lightning in the 2021 semis, where the Isles lost in seven.
Lee had big shoes to fill when he earned the captaincy as he supplanted the now-hated John Tavares when the latter left for the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency. It could be said that any of the Islanders players who could've been named captain would've been an immediate rock star favorite after that, but to see Lee be a shining example both on and off the ice is special.
Lee won the King Clancy award this past season for his charity work in helping raise money to help fight cancer on Long Island. Doing that kind of work off the ice is the sort of thing you love to see captains do, especially when they're able to help lead their teams to the Stanley Cup Playoffs on it.
8. Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
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Captain since: 2017-2018; 2019-2020
Jordan Staal has had a bit of a wild trip as a leader of the Carolina Hurricanes.
He was named co-captain of the team with Justin Faulk in 2017-2018 in Bill Peters' final year as head coach but was supplanted by Justin Williams the following season when Rod Brind'Amour took over. After that 2018-2019 season, however, Staal was named captain again, this time solely in the role, and Carolina has benefited from it.
Staal's steady play on the ice and his two-way game, along with his extended history with the Hurricanes (he was acquired in 2012 from the Pittsburgh Penguins to play alongside big brother Eric Staal) meant that he embodied the franchise more than anyone else on the roster outside of the Stanley Cup-winning head coach.
Staal's captaincy came at a time when Carolina was ascending the standings in the Eastern Conference, and with younger players like Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis to help bring along into the NHL, having his presence there to guide them has been deeply influential for them. The only thing missing now is a date in the Stanley Cup Final so Staal can try to add another Cup ring to his collection and another banner to fly in Raleigh.
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7. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
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Captain since: 2013-2014
You'll find no player physically harder to play against on this list than Jamie Benn. You'll also find no other captain who leads more through action than words than him either.
Since Benn was named Dallas Stars captain, he's had the task of helping make Dallas a regular playoff team and contender as well as helping make sure that hockey in Texas remains as popular as ever. Fortunately, the timing of his captaincy also matched up with the start of his peak years.
Benn's first six years as Stars captain saw him pile up 456 points including 199 goals in 482 games along with an Art Ross Trophy and finished third in MVP voting in 2015-2016 after he put up 41 goals and 48 assists and led Dallas to the best record in the Western Conference.
Even though Benn hasn't been quite the offensive star in recent years, he's undoubtedly the leader in the Stars room and sets the example for his teammates and it shows. Dallas plays hard physically and fast with a knack for crashing the net. Not all teams can resemble their captains, but Benn's influence on his team is beyond apparent and why they're one of the best squads in the league.
6. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
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Captain since: 2016-2017
It's incredible to think that Anze Kopitar has been in the NHL since 2006-2007 and has been an elite two-way player since around 2009. That he's been captain of the Los Angeles Kings since 2016-2017 seems both like it was almost yesterday and also a long time.
During his time wearing the "C," he's helped the Kings navigate their post-Stanley Cup years that could've seen the franchise opt to do a rebuild, but instead has helped it remain not just in the playoff race, but to be a postseason regular—albeit with their fatal flaw being having to face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round all the time.
Kopitar's experience in being an alternate captain under Dustin Brown during their two Stanley Cup seasons helped prepare him for what it's like to handle such demands. Coming from Slovenia, a country that doesn't have the vast hockey history as others in Europe, seeing him lead a team in one of the largest markets in the world is genuinely incredible.
Kopitar leads the way by example with his elite hockey IQ that allows him to command respect both offensively and defensively. Given the more in-flux nature of things in L.A. in recent years, having any other player leading the way could've led to disruption and years out of the playoffs. Kopitar's guidance has helped make sure that hasn't happened.
5. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
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Captain since: 2020-2021
The Vegas Golden Knights don't have an extensive history, what with starting up in 2017 and all that, but when they named Mark Stone as the first captain in team history in 2020-2021, all he's done since then is prove the team prescient.
Stone has been the epitome of leadership off the ice and on it in how he handles the media and for being an absolute quote machine when he speaks. And while he's battled numerous injuries during his time in Las Vegas (you may have heard about their handling of the salary cap thanks to that), when he's on the ice, he's the ultimate gamer.
Stone's physical presence and net-crashing helps generate offense, and his heads-up play defensively has been a hallmark of his game for years (four-time Selke Trophy finalist) since he played for the Ottawa Senators.
Unfortunately, we've all been robbed of seeing more of him on the ice thanks to the myriad injuries in recent years. While that's allowed Vegas to play loose and free with LTIR, having a player of Stone's caliber on the ice would be much preferred. Go back and watch his performance when he led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023 as proof as to why.
4. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
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Captain since: 2018-2019
It can be difficult to be a European captain in the NHL sometimes, but Aleksander Barkov's reign as leader of the Florida Panthers has been unquestionably fantastic.
Barkov was always one of the underappreciated players in the NHL. Playing in Florida was part of the reason for that, but his two-way acumen can also be missed occasionally because defense doesn't usually make the highlight reels.
Fortunately, Barkov's defense would turn into offense and his rise as an elite player in the NHL coincided with the rise of the Panthers. Well, perhaps it wasn't so much a coincidence and more because of Barkov's play.
The Panthers have missed the postseason once since Barkov was named captain, and that came in his first season with the "C." Ever since then, making the playoffs has become the standard and after back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Final and a Cup victory this year, he's established the bar at the top of the mountain.
He became the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup this year and with the way his teammates have spoken about him for years now, it's no wonder they rally around him so strongly.
3. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
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Captain since: 2010
It wasn't until the middle of Alex Ovechkin's fifth season in the NHL that he was named captain of the Washington Capitals (former captain Chris Clark was traded midseason and opened up the position), but ever since then he's helped the franchise navigate its way through playoff disappointments, head coaching changes and ultimately to their first Stanley Cup in 2018.
His presence is a commanding one in D.C. Ever since he entered the NHL in 2005-2006, he's had the rock star aura about him. Seeing him early in his career was an exhilarating experience as the entire arena would hum with excitement waiting to see what the bullish, speedy, rocket-firing winger would do next to land on the highlight reel.
But through all the playoff disappointments, whether it was against rival Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers or other Eastern Conference foes, Ovechkin bore the brunt of all of it, and when he led the Capitals past Vegas to win it all, it was equal parts overdue and right on time.
Now with the Capitals looking to restart a new era of success and Ovechkin on the brink of breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goal-scoring record, his legacy is a fascinating one that has made him the face of hockey in Washington forever.
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
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Captain since: 2016-2017
Recency bias? Maybe, but have you watched Connor McDavid play hockey before? Do you know what it was like for the Edmonton Oilers before he got there? What would it be like if he ever left? Shudder to think.
McDavid was named captain of the Oilers at the age of 19 and became the youngest player in NHL history to earn the recognition by their team (breaking the mark previously set by Gabriel Landeskog in Colorado). From the moment he was drafted No. 1 by the Oilers in 2015, it was only a matter of when he would be given the "C" and not if.
Handling that kind of pressure at that age would be difficult for any player, particularly one in a championship-starved Canadian market like Edmonton. But all McDavid has done since then is become the best player in the NHL since Sidney Crosby and dragged the Oilers out of the draft lottery and into annual postseason appearances. That the Oilers just made their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006 this year isn't so much a knock against McDavid but more against management for not surrounding him better until recently.
Pressure for any captain in the NHL is high because that role comes with the expectation of success. For McDavid, he's handled that both for himself and for the team with aplomb. And while he's not someone who speaks brashly, when he does speak it's heard loud and clear by everyone.
1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
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Captain since: 2007-2008
Sidney Crosby being our No. 1 pick probably shouldn't be too big of a surprise.
It's not only because out of everyone we ranked, he's won the most Stanley Cups (three in four appearances), but it's also because he's been captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins since he was 20 years old and has helped them weather two distinct eras in which they've won the Stanley Cup.
The group he led to win the Cup in 2009 with himself, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-André Fleury all being relatively young against the much more veteran Detroit Red Wings, whom they'd lost to the year before, was profoundly different than the teams he led to back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. Sure, there were many similar players, but those teams did things much differently with a vastly different supporting cast beyond the stars.
As Crosby heads into his 18th season as the team captain, the outlook is a fair bit different for them as a whole, but his performance on the ice has not waned. While he's not putting up quite as many points as he did in his early 20s, he's had back-to-back 90-point seasons at age 35 and 36 and he's been better than a point per game every year of his career.
He's the best player of his generation and the reason why when Connor McDavid was drafted in 2015 the main question was whether he would be the next Crosby. The Penguins star established the bar for everyone to reach for both on and off the ice.
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