NHL vs. NFL: Which Sport Has the Better Captains?

The title of captain comes with a great amount of respect, regardless of the sport.

To be selected captain of your team means that you are respected by all of your teammates and the coaching staff as well as the fans of your team. You are charged with leading an entire squad. You represent them at all times.

There are really only two sports that make a big deal about who the team captains are: the NFL and the NHL.

So it only seems natural that we should compare the captains and see who has the better captains and why.

How Many Captains Are There?

The NFL allows for six captains per team that last throughout the season, regardless of who is benched during the course of 16 games.

The NHL names one captain and allows for two alternate captains during each game. A team may choose to rotate the alternate captains throughout the season.

It's hard to say whether one is better based off of the numbers, I will say that it makes sense to have a few more captains in the NFL since the rosters are so much bigger than the NHL's. Also, with separate units (offense, defense), and a huge dearth of true two-way players in the league these days, the need for captains on both sides becomes even more pressing.

We'll call it a push on this.

Who Gets the Honor?

Between the two leagues, it seems to me that the NFL provides the honor to the more predictable people.

Pretty much every single starting quarterback in the NFL is a captain for his team. Not necessarily because they are the best leader, but because every single play goes through their hands. It really just makes sense.

Other captains on the teams generally end up being the players that are the highest-producing statistical players.

Generally a running back and a receiver plus a linebacker or two and a member of the secondary.

With the NHL it doesn't necessarily have to be your top scorer. It can play out like that occasionally, but it hasn't been unusual to see a guy who plays on the third line named captain.

To me, I like the idea that one of your hardest-working players, who doesn't need the glory, still serves as the captain.

I think that the lack of predictability in who can get the captaincy of a team goes in favor of the NHL.

Who Are the Better Leaders?

In theory, both leagues would be choosing the team captains that are the best leaders on the team, but that definitely isn't always the case in the NFL.

All I need to do is remind people that the likes of Randy Moss have been named captains. That line of thinking just doesn't always follow.

Plus, it seems that a lot of NFL teams also have kickers as their team captains, and kickers aren't exactly known for their leadership techniques, unless it concerns the first player to file out of practice (generally the kicker).

As far as the NHL is concerned, all you have to do is mention the likes of Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Wayne Gretzky and one of the first things that people will talk about with each of these guys is what amazing leaders they were.

Their offensive talent declined over the years, but their presence on the bench and in the locker room was enough to maintain that distinction.

That can't necessarily be said about all of the captains in the NFL.

Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing leaders in the NFL both past and present. Peyton Manning, John Elway, Ray Lewis, just to name a few.

In my opinion, however, the NHL's captains are more complete leaders.

Responsibilities

The duties of NFL captains are pretty simple, if you ask me.

They come out during the start of the game for the coin toss and to determine whether or not they want to call heads or tails. This is followed up by whether they want to kick or receive.

This is an important part of the game, no doubt about that, but there really isn't much in-game action for the team captains other than asking coach if they want to accept or decline a penalty.

In the NHL the team captains will frequently be seen discussing things with the referee and getting clarifications for calls and rulings.

Only the captain or alternate captains are the only players allowed to discuss rulings with the officials in the NHL.

You will frequently see NFL players of all kinds going up to the officials as they are trying to figure out a call or having conversations.

How Are They Chosen?

One of the cooler traditions in all of sports is the manner in which NHL teams have historically chosen their captains.

The ubiquity of the tradition has died somewhat, but the NHL remains famous for having the players on the team actually choose the captain of their team.

More and more it seems that coaches are the ones choosing captains in the NHL, but I have a reason to believe that the old tradition lives on in many NHL teams.

To my knowledge, captains are selected exclusively by the coaches in the NFL.

Both methods are still a huge honor to know that your fellow players and coaching staff think that much of you to put you in a position of leadership, it is a great honor.

That old tradition of teammates choosing the captain still seems to be about the biggest honor that any player could receive. It's great that your coaches recognize you as a leader, but to know that each of your teammates recognizes you as the leader on the team would just make it that much more special.

In Conclusion...

The honor of being a captain is not something that is taken lightly in either sport. Players are always very honored to be given a big time leadership position on a team.

The NHL seems to have the more complete leaders though. They take on more of a responsibility within the game, are often chosen by their teammates, and really are the faces of their team.

It is for these reasons that I believe that the NHL's captains are better than the NFL's captains.