Detroit Red Wings to Announce New Team Captain

The Detroit Red Wings have been without a team captain for the last two seasons. In 2018, former captain and future Hall-of-Famer, Henrik Zetterberg, was forced to retire after 15 seasons. The Red Wings are now expected to name a new captain, but is it an obvious choice?

Former captain of the Red Wings and current General Manager, Steve Yzerman, is set to name a new team captain. Dylan Larkin seems like the obvious choice as he has developed into an elite level player. However, there are still 3 players on the roster from the team's glory days.

Justin Abdelkader, Johnathan Ericsson, and Jimmy Howard won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. They have been in the organization for nearly 20 years. Does this time and experience make Abdelkader or Ericsson captain material, or is Dylan Larkin the clear, obvious choice?

Paying homage to veteran players is not a new concept. For instance, Alexander Ovechkin was not named team captain of the Washington Capitals until 2010. Instead, Chris Clarke was named captain in 2006. The Florida Panthers named two veteran captains, Willie Mitchell & Derek MacKenzie, before Aleksnder Barkov was given the role.

Will Yzerman name Dylan Larkin or a seasoned veteran as the next team captain?

Photo: Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire