The New York Rangers need a captain? Not so fast!

The New York Rangers have not had a captain in over two years, preferring a rotation of alternate captains.  The popular opinion is that the time has come to pick one, but that may not be a good idea.

Mika Zibanejad for captain!  Chris Kreider for captain!  The New York Rangers don’t have a captain and they need one now!  Blue Line Station’s Andrew Steele-Davis made a compelling argument for a choice to be made and came down in favor of Kreider.  You can read the story by clicking below.

light. Read about it. ZIbanejad or Kreider for captain

I would argue that if you look at recent history, being captain of the New York Rangers has been kind of a jinx.  Fundamentally, bad things happen to players selected to be captain. Here’s what happened over the last 23 years:

Ryan McDonagh – 2014-18
When he was picked, the belief was that he would be the team leader for years to come.  Age and the need for a new contract along with the decision to go full rebuild spelled the end of McDonagh’s captaincy and he was swapped to Tampa at the trade deadline in February 2018.   Ryan Callahan – 2011-14
The heart and soul of the New York Rangers, Callahan led by example.  He threw checks, blocked shots and sacrificed his body for the team.  With a tough contract negotiation pending and the team’s belief that is body was going to break down, he was swapped to Tampa for Martin St. Louis.   Chris Drury – 2008-11
Drury signed a five-year, $35 million contract in the summer of 2007.   A legendary leader in the locker room he was the second USA-born captain in franchise history (after Brian Leetch).   After joining the team, his production plummeted and he found himself sidelined with a degenerative knee condition and was bought out of the last year of his contract.  Jaromir Jagr  – 2006-08
After Jagr had the greatest season of any Ranger player scoring 54 goals and 123 points, he was named captain to start the 2006-07 season.  He was already the spiritual leader of the “Czechmates” and had led the team back to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.  As captain, he did everything he was supposed to, leading the team in scoring each year.  So what happened?  Jagr couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension and inexplicably, Glen Sather let him sign with Avangard Omsk of the KHL.  Mark Messier – 2000-04
This was Messier’s second shot at being captain of the Rangers and it was certainly not as successful as the first foray.  Brian Leetch happily gave up the captaincy and Messier’s return felt like an attempt to make up for his unnecessary departure three years earlier. The Blueshirts missed the playoffs each year he was captain as they endured the longest playoff drought in franchise history. 

Brian Leetch – 1997-2000
The soft spoken Leetch was given the unenviable task of succeeding Messier,  one of  the greatest captains and team leaders in NHL history.  Not only that, team management made a series of ill-fated trades and free agent signings.  The result?  One of the best Rangers ever became the first and only Rangers captain in the post-expansion NHL to miss the playoffs every year he led the team. Not only that, Leetch was banished to Toronto in the purge of 2004.

So, what to do?

Considering that the careers of the last six Rangers captains didn’t end so well (at least in New York), it may not be a bad idea to keep the alternate captain rotation going for a while.    The fact that Kreider is under contract for years doesn’t matter, it didn’t help Leetch or Drury.  ZIbanejad is facing a contract extension negotiation that should begin next summer.  You know what happened to McDonagh, Callahan and Jagr, all former captains whose contractual status led to their premature departures from New York.

And, to make matters worse, if recent history is any indication the next Ranger captain will end up getting traded to Tampa, like Callahan and McDonagh.

Leadership comes from the individual and the addition of a capital “C” on the jersey really doesn’t mean anything.  There’s no doubt who the leaders of this Rangers team are and keeping a rotation that includes both Zibanejad and Kreider certainly sounds like the best option.  Hey, let’s add Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren to the rotation for good measure.

Just a suggestion.

More. Great Rangers teams that didn't win. light