Flames captaincy updates and candidate rankings

Conversation surrounding the pending Calgary Flames captaincy announcement continues.

Flames fans and media are justifiably chomping at the bit for official word from the organization on who will don the “C”. The Flames have been without a captain since Mark Giordano’s last game with the club at the end of the 2020/21 season and formalized leadership is something that players, fans, and media have recognized as a necessary void to fill for some time now.

Let’s get into it. Here’s how dialogue on the next Calgary Flames captain has progressed.

The Calgary Flames’ captain dilemma timeline

• Back in May of this year, Flames General Manager, Craig Conroy, joined Pat Steinberg on Flames Talk and wasn’t shy to share that a captain would be named in advance of the 2023/24 season (which is now only 26 days away).
• Immediately, the rumour mill started buzzing. Fuelled by fans and a severe lack of off-season Flames news, frontrunners for the role emerged. Subjectively, most of the buzz seemed to centre around a pair of defencemen: MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson.
• On August 16, Calgary’s new head coach, Ryan Huska, jumped on The Rod Perdersen Show and backed up Conroy’s claim that the Flames will be naming a captain before puck drop on opening night.
• Weegar gained steam after his August 18th appearance on Flames Talk, during which he expressed that he would “love” to be 20th captain of the Calgary Flames.
• Less than a week later, Rasmus Andersson was featured on 32 Thoughts, which sparked comments from Jeff Marek about Calgary’s number 4 being captain material.
• Another name in the mix throughout, but perhaps without as much traction, is Jonathan Huberdeau. I took the “Huberdeau for captain” stance in a recent piece, as did Ryan Leslie on Sportsnet 960.
• With the team returning to Calgary in advance of training camp, captaincy chatter has progressed to a roar. To add fuel to the fire, the Canucks named Quinn Hughes captain and the Jets handed their “C” to Adam Lowry earlier this week.
• On September 12th, Eric Francis confirmed the announcement timeline (before the regular season begins) alongside a very bold statement: “expect the new captain to be Rasmus Andersson,” which prompted me to pen quick piece on what the Flames leadership group could look like under Andersson.
• The following day, Nikita Zadorov joined Steinberg and Wes Gilbertson on Flames Talk. Zadorov was very blunt when it came to providing his opinion on the matter; to him, Mikael Backlund has been the captain since Gio left and all that’s left to do is make it official.
• On the 14th, Wes Gilbertson detailed what makes the looming captaincy decision a “conundrum” in the Calgary Sun. In fact, the story was deemed big enough to make it on the front page of the physical paper.
• This evening, Eric Francis published an article with some insightful quotes on the decision directly from Conroy:

"In our situation it’s not easy because I think we have a bunch of leaders, and people bring different things to the table.I’m not in the room every day, so I don’t really know what’s being said in between periods, pre and post. So, the coaching staff and the players need to give us some input.In a Canadian market you need a captain and you need it to be the right person.That’s why we’re not going to rush it, we’re gonna go to camp and (coach Ryan) Huska is going to bond with that player."

Ranking Flames captain candidates

Huska and Conroy have options. The fans and media have their opinions. And maybe most importantly, the players inside the locker room have their own thoughts on the decision informed by insight available to a grand total none of us on the outside.

The four top candidates for the role are, in order of mention in this article above, MacKenzie Weegar, Rasmus Andersson, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Mikael Backlund. Every one of them would make a good captain, but to toss a little gas on the embers, I’ve ranked them from four to one on likelihood of being named the 20th captain in Calgary Flames history below.

4. MacKenzie Weegar

Top captain attributes: Will to win, vocal leadership, term

The fan favourite for the captaincy role a couple of weeks ago, MacKenzie Weegar is a relatable down-to-earth hard-working defenceman who wants to win hockey games in Calgary. While his will to win with the Flames might be the most important here, we’ve seen him emerge as a vocal leader as well. From The Win Column’s John MacKinnon on Weegar’s vocal leadership:

"He was the first player to come out and state that the team needed a coaching change, he took time during his exit interview to vouch for a new arena, and has been one of the first Flames players to openly discuss his pleasure in Conroy’s hiring."

3. Jonathan Huberdeau

Top captain attributes: Commitment, accountability, mentorship

His commitment, contract term, mentorship, potential (necessity) to be the best player, fan/media relations, and accountability, Huberdeau would make a fantastic long-term captain. The knocks against him are of course the priority to bounce back from a disappointing inaugural season in Calgary and that we don’t know how he’s viewed by his teammates in the room.

More on why Jonathan Huberdeau should be named the captain

2. Mikael Backlund

Top captain attributes: Support of the locker room, on-ice play, community leadership

The King Clancy Trophy is a league-wide award that goes to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities off and on the ice. The most recent King Clancy winner: Calgary’s Mikael Backlund. Not only is he recognized as the best leader in the NHL, his teammates see him as their captain and there might not be a better argument for anyone to wear a second “C” on their jersey than that. The only reason Backlund isn’t the captain already is because his contract is set to expire. The question is simple to ask but difficult to answer: if Mikael Backlund is not extended beyond the 2023/24 season, does it make sense to name him the captain anyway?

Backlund was also recently recognized as the team’s most valuable player in 2022/23, receiving the Harley H. Hotchkiss Award earlier this week.

Check out my recent “Roundup” article for an update on Backlund’s future as a Calgary Flame

1. Rasmus Andersson

Top captain attributes: Accountability, consistency, pride

He razzles, he dazzles, he’s the fan favourite for the captain’s role, and he wants it. Andersson has been a part of the organization since he was drafted, played in the AHL under Huska, and is almost always the first player to take accountability. He’s proud to wearing the Flaming C and call Calgary home. Rasmus is great with the media, well spoken, has term left on his deal, and shows up to compete every single night.

Earlier this week, Andersson was recognized as the Flames’ best defenceman from last season, winning the Clayton H. Riddell Award.

With the Flames prospects taking part in the Young Stars Classic, maybe the dialogue will dissipate ever so slightly this weekend while Flames fans watch actual hockey. On the other hand, the Calgary Flames captaincy conversation will likely only continue to snowball (and I’m here for it).