The Chicago Blackhawks appear to be proceeding with the current NHL season without naming an official team captain.
Several names were suggested but Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson has set the records straight, explaining why they have no immediate plans of naming a new team captain anytime soon to succeed Jonathan Toews.
"The only plan right now is to sort of just let it breathe for a year," Davidson said to reporters via NHL.com. "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. … There's no requirement to have a captain, and so we just felt that it was best to leave that, push that decision a little bit, we'll let the chips fall where they may."
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Toews says he will be taking a breather as he addresses his health issues in an Instagram post. However, made it clear that he is not retiring and that his love for the game remains.
Among the names being floated to succeed Toews were defenseman Seth Jones and Connor Bedard. Of the two, Jones is considered a better fit since Bedard is still a rookie and needs to learn the ropes.
The Blackhawks are currently in rebuild mode following a woeful last-place finish in the Central Division. However, this allowed them to select Bedard as the top pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, the Associated Press reported.
“Over the next year, we’ll see who emerges, see what the best option is and decide next year if it’s appropriate to name someone,” Davidson quipped. “We’ll take that as it comes.”
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