[TheScorpion]

Let's face it: Mark Giordano isn't going to be around forever. He'll be 34 on opening night, and yet he still has five years left on his current contract which carries a cap-hit of $6.75 million per season. In addition, the Flames have a number of defensive prospects currently fighting to make the jump into the big league, guys like Juuso Valimaki, Oliver Kylington, Rasmus Andersson, Brett Kulak, and Josh Healey. It's not unreasonable to suspect that the Flames may trade him before his deal is up, maybe within the next couple of years.

That would leave the Flames' captaincy position open for just the second time since 2003, when Craig Conroy relinquished his 'C' in favour of Jarome Iginla. This begs the question -- who would be Giordano's likely successor?

Unlike in 2013, when Giordano first took on the captaincy, the Flames aren't that veteran-heavy. Back then, it seemed to be a question of whether Giordano, Curtis Glencross, or perhaps even Mike Cammalleri would get the duties bestowed upon them. Now, however, Giordano is the oldest skater on the team, and his fellow age-30+ players, like Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg, and Mike Smith, either play a position ineligible to receive the captaincy or are on expiring deals and are likely to leave the team sooner than even Giordano would. While a guy like Stajan seems to be the natural 'leader' type, having held the alternate captaincy before in Calgary, it doesn't seem like the 'C' would have a long-term residence on his sweater.

The exception to the 'expiring contracts' rule with the veterans is obviously Troy Brouwer, who already has an 'A' on his chest. He seems to command respect from his teammates, seeing as he was given the alternate captaincy before he even played a game here, but considering his declining production, the likeliness of him being bought out, and some of the other, younger choices on the Flames, it's incredibly doubtful that Troy Brouwer will be the next captain of the Flames.

That leaves us with the younger guys. Who do you see as being named the next captain of the Flames? Sean Monahan? Sam Bennett? Mikael Backlund? T.J. Brodie? Travis Hamonic? Dougie Hamilton? Or could it be a more unheralded choice, like Michael Frolik, Curtis Lazar, Micheal Ferland, or even Johnny Gaudreau? Perhaps, could it be someone from outside the organization? Or maybe a prospect, like Mark Jankowski, Juuso Valimaki, or Emile Poirier?

Let me know what you think.