GM Kyle Davidson discloses plans for next Chicago Blackhawks captain

By Srihari Anand

Modified Sep 19, 2023 22:44 GMT

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Ever since Jonathan Toews' departure this offseason, fans have been waiting for the next Chicago Blackhawks captain's announcement.

The position of Chicago Blackhawks captain was given to Jonathan Toews in 2008 when he was just 20 years old. Since then, the Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cup championships between 2010 and 2015.

In a press conference held today, GM Kyle Davidson announced that the team will not elect any player as the next captain of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise. According to The Athletic's Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus, Davidson said,

“We’ll have a group of assistants, which will we will determine and announce later in training camp. As I said, we’ve added a lot of experienced leaders, but we’re looking for the collective to find that leadership capability and not just the players that will end up wearing letters on their sweaters. We’re looking for everyone to step up as we enter the year.”

According to Davidson, the reason behind the franchise's decision to not elect a captain is two-fold, the first being out of respect for former captain Jonathan Toews.

“We came off such a successful tenure with Jonathan that a little bit of it is just out of respect for Jonathan, to not fill that spot right away," he said.

Davidson then said the organisation felt best to push the decision of electing a new captain to not pressurize the player who would jump into Toews' boots:

"The other part is not to put that pressure on someone else when you’re coming out of a period of such greatness."

Seth Jones was the alternate captain for the 2022-23 season and Connor Murphy was the season before that. The Blackhawks have other veterans Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall to take up alternate captain spots as well.

Defenseman desires to be the next Chicago Blackhawks captain

Seth Jones was the team's alternate captain for the 2022-23 NHL season. In an interview with NHL.com, the defenseman shared his desire to become the next Chicago Blackhawks captain:

"I’ve always wanted to be a captain. I’ve learned from some great leaders -- Shea Weber, Nick Foligno, Jonathan Toews -- I mean, I played with some of the greatest captains that we’ve seen. It would be pretty special.”

Jones, who signed a $76,000,000 contract in 2021 after being traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets, said,

"I understand where the organization is at. I’m focused on going and just playing my game and leading whether I have a C, an A or nothing on my jersey. I don’t think that should change."

With the organization confirming they're letting the Chicago Blackhawks captain position "breathe," as per GM Davidson, it will be interesting to see who takes up the spot at the start of next season.