Roberto Luongo Steps Down As Vancouver Canucks' Captain. Who Will Replace Him?

Finally, the expected has happened.

Roberto Luongo has stepped down as the Vancouver's Canucks captain, as reported by Sportsnet, resolving one of the soap operas surrounding the Canucks currently. (The other drama being Cody Hodgson)

So what does this mean for the Canucks?

Well, for Luongo, this should have a positive effect on his play. Being captain and dealing with the media created more mental pressure on a goalie, a position which is 90% mental to begin with. Luongo obviously had some focus problems at times throughout the year, most notably in the playoffs. Taking this responsibility off his shoulders should help to alleviate that.

Also this was officially his decision to resign the captaincy, so there shouldn't be a negative effect in the locker room, like when Mark Messier ripped the C off Trevor Linden's jersey back in the 90s.

Going forward, who will be the new captain?

The two leading candidates, at least if you listen to the fans calling in to Team 1040, are Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler. Both players have positives and negatives.

Henrik Sedin is definitely the most skilled player on the Canucks (sorry Daniel), and is the reigning Art Ross winner, so he should be able to generate offense when the team needs a boost. He is also pretty stoic and level headed, so he can help steady the team when necessary. (An example of this would be Henrik defusing Shane Obrien during the playoffs when he was exploding at the Canucks' coaches, the refs and the LA Kings.)

Henrik is also great at community work within Vancouver, as shown by his multi-million donation to BC Children's Hospital last year.

A potential downside to Henrik would be the shadow of Markus Naslund, whose effectiveness as captain in Vancouver was questionable at best. The Canucks would be trading the controversy over a goalie captain for the inevitable questions about having a Swedish captain.

However, Henrik has been dealing with the media and questions about his character since Day 1 in his NHL career. If he can deal for years of being called (along with twin Daniel) as the "Sedin Sisters" by the media and irate fans, I'm sure he can deal with questions about being a Swedish captain.

Ryan Kesler is the other main candidate for the captaincy. While Henrik is the most skilled skater on the team, Kesler is the best all around skater, as he brings a physical element that is missing from Henrik's game. He also isn't a slouch when it comes to offensive skills, scoring almost a point a game last season.

However, Kesler is very competitive and emotional, wearing his heart on his sleeve. This is a double-edged sword in regards to being captain.

On the one hand, he will do whatever it takes to win, whether it be driving the net, blocking a shot or throwing a dirty hit.

On the other hand, his competitive nature and fiery personality can lead him to be perceived as an ass around the league.

Look no further than his comments about Andrew Ladd last year (and the response from around the league), or when he infamously stated he "hates Canada" during the Olympics. Of course, Mark Messier was a similar win at all costs captain, and he wasn't exactly well liked by players on the other teams either, so you don't have to win a popularity contest to be a good captain.

Kesler as captain would definitely bring the emotional element that fans in this market seem to crave, but Henrik's level headedness might serve them better judging by how they imploded against Chicago.

My bet is Henrik will be named captain shortly.

Who do you think should be captain?