In addition to all of the activities to build the roster for the 2017-18 Carolina Hurricanes roster which seems to be nearing completion, there is also work to be completed within the roster. Coach Bill Peters and his staff will need to figure out line combinations, defense pairings, special teams units, adjustments to the system and a number of other things with the aim of having the Hurricanes come out of the gate faster and finish at or above .500 in October for the first time in Peters’ tenure as the Hurricanes bench boss.
In addition to sorting out the lineup, there is also this lingering situation with a couple letters. Since the departure of Eric Staal in February of 2016, the Carolina Hurricanes have gone with a collection of “A”s but no “C” for its captains. There was some thought that it might be resolved during training camp before the 2016 season. There was some thought that it might be resolved during the 2016-17 season. But as of now, nothing has been decided (at least that has been announced publicly).
The addition of Justin Williams last week undoubtedly adds another leader regardless of what his official role is and also makes for an interesting time to reopen the discussion of the Hurricanes captaincy. And that is the subject of the Monday Coffee Shop.
If you have not stopped there already, please also check out today’s Daily Cup of Joe which addresses the same topic of Justin Williams and the Hurricanes’ captaincy.
Carolina Hurricanes polls
Please remember to click ‘vote’ after each individual poll response.
Who WILL wear the "C" for the Hurricanes during the 2016-17 season?
- Justin Williams (33%, 49 Votes)
- Jeff Skinner (22%, 33 Votes)
- No one. The team will again go with only alternate captains. (20%, 30 Votes)
- Jordan Staal (16%, 23 Votes)
- Justin Faulk (6%, 9 Votes)
- Someone else (add in comments) (3%, 4 Votes)
- Victor Rask (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 148
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Who SHOULD wear the "C" for the Hurricanes in 2017-18?
- Jeff Skinner (31%, 34 Votes)
- Justin Williams (27%, 30 Votes)
- Jordan Staal (20%, 22 Votes)
- No one. A group of "A"s is the best option. (12%, 13 Votes)
- Justin Faulk (6%, 7 Votes)
- Someone else (add in comments) (5%, 5 Votes)
- Victor Rask (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 111
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What will Justin Williams' formal role be in terms of leadership?
- "A" (49%, 69 Votes)
- "C" (32%, 45 Votes)
- No letter on his jersey. He will help informally. (20%, 28 Votes)
Total Voters: 142
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Who will be the Hurricanes' captain in four years?
- Jaccob Slavin (44%, 60 Votes)
- Jeff Skinner (19%, 26 Votes)
- Sebastian Aho (15%, 20 Votes)
- Jeff Skinner (7%, 9 Votes)
- Jordan Staal (6%, 8 Votes)
- Someone else not currently in organization (4%, 5 Votes)
- Elias Lindholm (2%, 3 Votes)
- Justin Faulk (1%, 2 Votes)
- Noah Hanifin (1%, 2 Votes)
- Brett Pesce (1%, 1 Votes)
- Victor Rask (0%, 0 Votes)
- Justin Williams (0%, 0 Votes)
- Someone else currently in the organization. (add in comments) (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 136
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Discussion questions
1) Do you think Justin Williams was identified for and brought in specifically for a formal leadership role and effect on the team? Or do you think that is just one of many positives and a nice bonus to add to the mix?
2) Beyond the simple ‘pick a player’ poll, how do you think the Hurricanes’ captaincy situations resolves itself for the 2017-18 season?
3) If Williams does wear the “C” for two years, do you think this significantly increases the probability that a young player comes from off the board currently to claim that role? If so, who do you like?
Go Canes!
I’ve been following this site for a long time but this is the first time I’m braving posting something in the commentary. I’ve been a big fan of the site and appreciate the insight. So here goes…
1) I go back and forth on this issue. Williams isn’t exactly brand new blood to the ‘Canes, so I don’t rule him out automatically. However, I don’t think it’s a given that he’ll wear the C. My impression is that whoever gets the C will have to earn it by showing leadership. He was certainly brought in, in part, for his leadership qualities but I’m not convinced he was brought in specifically to be captain.
2) Coach Peters and Ron Francis made it clear last season that they were in no hurry to assign a new captain. I think if someone proves they deserve the role, they’ll get the C, but if no one proves themselves we may go the whole season with only As.
3) I, like quite a few fans, was impressed by Sebastian Aho last season, specifically when he worked out a PPG play with Jordan Staal from the bench. I think he could step up in a few years if we keep seeing that kind of thing. I’ve also been impressed with our young blue liners so could see someone like Slavin or Hanifin step up, especially as we as a team seem to be more defensively driven.
Welcome Stormwarning! It is always great to add a new viewpoint to the friendly discussion!
stormwarning: welcome to the party.
Welcome to the site Stormwarning. Good first writeup.
I believe Williams becomes short-term Captain… or one of Slavin/Aho with Williams grooming the new captain.
Skinner, Staal and Faulk to me are ‘meh’ options when it comes to captaining a team. They are all great players to wear the A, just not what I consider THE leader.
Compare this to Slavin, who stays in Raleigh during the summers and has already become a fan favorite because of his attitude and presence on and off the ice. Aho is another guy who just seems to “get it” and that confidence seemed to energize the team last year in the right ways. Both these guys have made larger leadership impacts (seeming to want it) in the last year than others combined.
Welcome stormwarning!
WELCOME stormwanring–glad to have you. You started “on time” with some great insights.
Now to the tricky part. I actually studied leadership in graduate school. The bottom line is that it has become a shibboleth in our modern world. As shibboleths are wont to be, it is basically worthless. Leaders only really exist in voluntary undertakings. That is because those who follow a leader can just give up. Movements have leaders (MLK, Jr. and Gandhi), churches have leaders, scout troops have leaders. When money is involved, leadership is one small component along with job satisfaction, a sense of meaning, commute time (surprisingly this is consistently number one for the average worker).
Now professional sports is slightly different (mostly because all the things just mentioned don’t really apply as athletes are “playing” a game they usually say they love). Hollywood would have us believe that one great coach or a dying teammate can inspire an inferior team to overachieve and knock off the smug and more talented opponents. A clearer look will put the lie to that.
Just three seasons ago there were numerous articles about Sydney Crosby being “poison” and not capable of “leading” a team to the Stanley Cup. The Chicago Bulls of the 80s and 90s is another example. Since then it has leaked out that MJ was not the easiest teammate nor a traditional “rah, rah leader,” Pippen felt like second banana, and Rodman was, well, Rodman, following a different drummer. With Stockton and Malone, the Jazz definitely had better leadership. But the Bulls won.
My point is that talent and system are much more important than leadership. In professional sports the team with the most scoring ability and/or score denying ability wins ( think the 2000 Ravens–who had multiple characters but not much in the way of leadership).
Justin Williams will make the Canes better, maybe much better. It will be his scoring ability, his excelling within the system, his making quick decisions on the power play. If he were painfully shy or socially awkward, he would still improve the team.
Let me close with this. Everyone thinks that leadership is super important in the military. But analysis of wars, both world wars and smaller regional conflicts, indicates that the “winner” is almost always the side with the higher GDP, or if GDPs are similar the side that had already spent more on weapons and materiel. The only outliers are insurgencies, where the fighters on one side only aren’t professionals and have a cause.
1/ I suspect leadership was part of the conversation that RBA had with JW (and not RF) and I’m sure the elephant in the room was that there was no “C” already. It’s more than a bonus; it was part of why we were willing to give him such a generous contract.
2/ I also suspect that JW becomes the Captain, though it’s a tricky situation given that there probably won’t continue to be four “A’s” and that someone who has one now will not have one next season. That’s something that a young player can take the wrong way – that’s some that an older player can take the wrong way, too, i.e., Brown/Kopitar or Pavelski/Thornton. This is something that complicates things a bit.
3/ I think that the next home-grown C is not currently wearing a letter, primarily because I believe that player would be wearing the C already or would be primed to wear it this season irrespective of JW’s signing. That’s not a slight to any of these players – it’s a tough role and few are right for it – I just get the sense that none of them are really built for it. My money would be on Aho or Slavin.
1. I absolutely do not think JW was identified/signed for that reason, but I think it is a big plus that was well-known a priori and one reason that JW was pursued. Conversely, I am sure there were some available forwards who taken off the table because they didn’t offer leadership value.
2. I expect that we most likely will continue to be “A”‘s only.
And it wasn’t because someone hasn’t stepped up to deserve it, as has been suggested. I was at the Canes Corner early in the season when both BP and RF were interviewed. The made the point that they were not planning to award a “C” because they did not want to place that burden someone going into the season.
Furthermore, several times during the season BP said that when he asked to speak with the team leadership, 6 or 7 players would participate and he felt comfortable with that level of participation by the team.
3. I will be surprised if he wears the “C” starting at the beginning of the season, so I consider the question too speculative to answer.
raleightj, I originally thought Jordan Staal would get the “C” if anyone did. After reading your writeup I’ve changed my mind and I think your response on all three points is correct. ctcaniac’s leadership analysis also seems to support your conclusions IMO.
I get the impression this is more going to be a leadership by committee team. I think the only way they name a captain next year is if they give it to Jeff Skinner. Before last year I would not advocate for Skinner wearing any letter to be honest, but last year he perfectly exemplified how a 110% buy in to the team system not only makes the team better, but individual statistics as well. I think Skinner would be a good voice to tell other talented younger players that you can ‘get yours’ by buying in and playing a 200 ft game.
If not Skinner, I don’t see anybody being a really good fit for the Captaincy. I would say Faulk based on his tenure, but watching him in interviews makes me feel like he is a tad bit ‘aloof’, he just doesn’t seem to speak with the passion or interest level i’d expect from a captain. Jordan Staal I think is a perfect fit to wear the A for the rest of his tenure with this club as he strikes me as a leader by example.
I think in 4 years the Captaincy will either be with Skinner, or Noah Hanifin if he develops into a #1 dman. While Hanifins playing tenure has been less than impressive, I remember his pre-draft interview when he said his goals in the league were to play in the league for 20 years, and to be the captain of an NHL team. I was beyond impressed with the maturity of those answers, and I can see Hanifin as the future captain of the organization as well.
Is anyone else very intrigued by the level of support Jaccob Slavin is receiving for future Captain? I mean we have no idea the state of the locker room, but that level of popularity among our small Caniac community is very interesting.
I think we’ll see the answer to the Captain question coming towards the end of training camp. It all depends on who players gravitate towards in the locker room and who can inspire performance on the ice. Justin Williams is definitely a candidate, but there have been accounts that suggest Jordan Staal was that guy last year, the team just didn’t want to name a captain. If these accounts are true, I think it very likely that Williams gets an ‘A’ and Staal the ‘C’. Here again though, I think the decision will be made after seeing how the players react with one another in training camp, and try and use that to spur some momentum going into the season.
Welcome stormwarning, very glad to have you here, and ctcaniac, I have serious interest in discussing perspectives on economics vs. leadership in the history of warfare with you. While I see your economic point, especially in context to our own Civil War, I think you’re underestimating the importance of leadership.
I am not surprised that Jaccob Slavin is getting votes for captain 4 years, out but I am very surprised that he is winning by a landslide so far. As stated, we are not privy to the internals of the Canes locker room, but I think it is a strong statement about what at least one portion of the fan base thinks about Jaccob Slavin.
More significantly, if we can piggyback the war economics discussion with the Hurricanes grocery shopping analogies from last Thursday, I think we are onto something.
I was honestly shocked when I saw the results and Slavin was so high! We don’t really know much about him at this stage? I only bring this up because I believe it is relevant to the point, but the only thing I know about him (aside from his game play) is that he is highly religious and seems very kind. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to have a super nice guy that attributes his successes to God (check all his interviews and he always does this) as the leader? I think somebody with some more snarl would be a good choice as a captain. I want to see him as a Cane for his entire tenure based on his play, but I don’t think he will ever wear a letter that’s just my guess. And in no way am I judging him for his religious devotion and his compassion, those are great things, I just wonder if they fit for a guy who has to Captain a room of individuals who might not feel the same way about those things.
1st – JW was brought in for his hockey IQ, his scoring, and “whatever it is that contributed to his GAME SEVEN EXPLOITS”!
Some people would call it leadership, and that’s probably as good a word as any, but I don’t think it’s easy to define… I’m reminded of the famous statement “I don’t know how to define PORNOGRAPHY, but I know it when I see it”!
Team captaincy can be overrated, as good coaches provide the leadership and use key players (on ice) to function as pseudo-captains… Some great player/ leaders didn’t wear a C, or A… it’s about respect, do as I do, not what I say.
I think a C may not happen until sometime during the season, or later, if and until a true leader emerges…
Williams has an opportunity to grab the C, but I don’t think he is just…given it!
…Welcome Stormwarning… not just because I agreed with everything you said (though that didn’t hurt), but more opinions are a VERY GOOD THING! Enjoy the fellow-fanatics…
I forgot- the above was 1st I’m still working on 2nd, 3rd, etc…
let’s call it (not last)…yet!
..later
Thanks all for the warm welcome. Looking forward to more discussions in the future!
Welcome stormwarning!
One of the things that’s impressed me about Slavin(and why I’d be fine with him getting the “C”) is the dedication to the team since Day 1. He was on ice for the first day of unofficial skate last year, and he’s a good “lead by example” type. Although if Skinner or JWillie get it, i won’t be disappointed in the slightest.