by Nic Phelan, Lead Correspondent, IceCaps Hockey Report
ST. JOHN’S, NL. — First off I’d like to go on the record that I believe the Canadiens will name either Max Pacioretty or P.K. Subban as their 29th captain by the end of camp. Both guys are entering the peak of their careers, and although very different they both seem to thrive in the city of Montreal.
Subban craves the limelight, is great with the press and community. Pacioretty, somewhat more of a quiet leader, fits the mold of a Saku Koivu type character, while offering size and scoring touch that Koivu always seemed to lack.
Also, I understand the rules, that a goalie cannot wear a C on his jersey nor represent his team to the officials on ice. As the legend goes this is due to former Canadiens goalie Bill Durnan. The “Durnan Rule” was put in place because Durnan would leave his crease to argue calls made by the referee and over time opposing teams challenged this as an unofficial timeout by the Canadiens, a delay of game if you will. One could see how this would be an even bigger issue in today’s game with hybrid icing and the inability for the guilty parties to change out their players on such a call.
In light of the Marc Bergevin announcement about the looming decision of announcing a captain, I wanted to make a case for Carey Price. Last season the Canadiens ran their leadership by committee with Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban sharing the alternate captain role. However, I think it is public knowledge that the reigning MVP, Vezina, Lindsay and Jennings winner, Carey Price was the real “Hart” (had to do it) behind the team.
So in an offseason when we’ve debated the best captain going forward I’ve often wondered why we are so focused on the “C” on the jersey. As the rule states goalies are allowed to be named captain of any team, however they cannot bear the C on their jersey, nor can they act as the captain during the games. A captain’s responsibility is nothing more than that of an alternate captain during the game. Sure the occasional ceremonial face-off might get a little awkward? But other than that, the captain’s responsibilities remain in the community, with the media after practices and games.
So here’s the catch, Roberto Luongo was the last captain from the crease, and he cited that it was and was not a distraction. Luongo stated in a September 2010 news conference “I want to put my whole focus on goaltending, I wouldn’t say it was a distraction. I think I could put something less on my plate. The less distractions as a goaltender (the better).”
So this begs the question would this be a big distraction on Price? He is obviously a player who has already made many efforts within the community and of course is constantly in the media for quotes after the games. Does distracting Price mean more than distracting another Habs star in Pacioretty or Subban?
I think the knock on awarding captaincy to the goalie is that the position in itself is often an island at times. Price has been left out to dry on a number of occasions, and even when he’s not it was evident last season that the Canadiens are a contender when he’s at the top of his game. Although Subban and Pacioretty have been game changers, it’s very rare that either guy can lose a game solely based on a bad performance.
I believe if we can continue to rely on our alternates to carry the load while on the ice surrounding the logistical duties of a captain, Carey has what it takes to lead this team in every other way. We’ve been treated to watching Carey grow to a point where he has ice in his veins at times, never fazed even on the biggest stage such as the Olympics. The question remains whether we would want to test that composure.