Should The Senators Delay Naming A New Captain?

One of the most popular topics amongst Sens Nation since the Brady Tkachuk trade has been who will replace him as captain.

Cases have been made for all four of the current alternate captains: Thomas Chabot, Claude Giroux, Jake Sanderson and Tim Stutzle.

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With Drake Batherson’s camp in heavy negotiations and the September 15th deadline for an eight-year extension fast approaching, his name has even been thrown in the hat, with the captaincy possibly being part of the offer.

Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss whether Travis Green is facing extra pressure in the upcoming season, his third year as Sens head coach.

One option that’s rarely been talked about is starting the 2026-27 season with no captain.

Let’s discuss.

In order to settle that debate, a few questions need answering.

Does a team need a captain to be a playoff team or win a championship?

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Only two teams have won the Stanley Cup with no captain in NHL history, and it was the Boston Bruins in 1970 and again in 1972. They ran a captain by committee, and they also had Johnny Bucyk and Phil Esposito. Both are in the Hall of Fame.

They also had some guy named Bobby Orr.

Several teams in NHL history have made the playoffs with a captain by committee approach, but it is an anomaly.

It would not be the first time the Senators have gone into a season without a captain. After Erik Karlsson departed, the team was without a captain for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons before Tkachuk signed his extension and assumed the role.

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Of course, the Senators were not the Boston Bruins of ’70 & ’72. The Sens were rebuilding with very low expectations, and their 77-109-23 record during that time supports that.

It is also worth noting that, regardless of how his tenure came to end in Ottawa, Tkachuk was the obvious choice, and no one was shocked when the announcement came.

Going into the season without a captain does not mean doom for the Senators. However, it won’t inspire fan confidence if they have the whole summer to fill that hole and can’t decide from within who should fill it.

Is there an obvious choice to succeed…