Watching Mario Lemieux last night reminded me of what an amazing leader he is. In one game, he managed to unite a bunch of multi-millionaires into a team with a purpose.
It got me to thinking, which Captain of the Flames was able to do that the best here. I'm not necessarily talking about who was the best statistical player, or who fought the most, but who was the best leader, on and off the ice?
Here's a list..
Captains
For example, while I believe Iggy is probably the most talented Captain - I think this last playoff run showed he is becoming a true leader on the ice too. Coming to the defence of your teammates, working as hard as anyone else, becoming a face of the franchise, taking the rookies under your wing, heaping praise or kicking ass in the locker room when warranted...all stuff that should be used in your decision.
Personally, I think the top 3 captains I remember would be:
Lanny: Veteran leadership, commanded respect due to his abilities and accomplishments on the ice, great locker room guy and all around "nice guy" Maybe too nice to kick ass, but didn't need to due to players respect for him.
Iggy: Going to be the best after a couple more years. Does everything I indicated above..scores, hits, fights, charity, etc, etc. Add in all the hob-knobbing he's doing with the elite captains in the game today at World Cups, Olympics, All-Star games and he'll just get better.
Nieuwendyk: A classic soft-spoken, lead by example type like Joe Sakic and Marcus Naslund today. Unfortunately, he couldn't lead the team of all-stars to another Cup and then selfishly held-out until traded.
Let me know what you guys think...