A team captain is a leader both on and off the ice, but do all NHL teams actually need to have one?
Of the 32 teams in the NHL, 26 of them have assigned team captains. This means that there are six teams that don’t have a captain – the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets.
Which NHL Teams Don’t Have Captains?
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| TEAM | CAPTAIN |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | NO CAPTAIN |
| Arizona Coyotes | NO CAPTAIN |
| Boston Bruins | Patrice Bergeron |
| Buffalo Sabres | Kyle Okposo |
| Calgary Flames | NO CAPTAIN |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Jordan Staal |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Jonathan Toews |
| Colorado Avalanche | Gabriel Landeskog |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Boone Jenner |
| Dallas Stars | Jamie Benn |
| Detroit Red Wings | Dylan Larkin |
| Edmonton Oilers | Connor McDavid |
| Florida Panthers | Aleksander Barkov |
| Los Angeles Kings | Anze Kopitar |
| Minnesota Wild | Jared Spurgeon |
| Montreal Canadiens | Nick Suzuki |
| Nashville Predators | Roman Josi |
| New Jersey Devils | Nico Hischier |
| New York Islanders | Anders Lee |
| New York Rangers | Jacob Trouba |
| Ottawa Senators | Brady Tkachuk |
| Philadelphia Flyers | NO CAPTAIN |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Sidney Crosby |
| San Jose Sharks | Logan Couture |
| Seattle Kraken | NO CAPTAIN |
| St. Louis Blues | Ryan O'Reilly |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Steven Stamkos |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | John Tavares |
| Vancouver Canucks | Bo Horvat |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Mark Stone |
| Washington Capitals | Alex Ovechkin |
| Winnipeg Jets | NO CAPTAIN |
According to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and National Hockey League (NHL) rules, the captain is the only player allowed to speak with referees about rule interpretations. If the captain is not on the ice, an alternate captain is able to take over this responsibility.
Although captains don’t have any other official responsibility or authority above that of other players, there’s often a range of informal duties that they take on for their teams. This can include leading the dressing room, communicating player concerns with management, and participating in pre-game ceremonies.