Almost every offseason there is at Juventus Jersey least one change in who wears the "C" for an NHL squad. Last season there were five newly-named captains in the league while this year there's three. Whether a change is made because of retirement, roster moves or any number of reasons, the decision to appoint one individual as team captain is a major one, although some teams choose to play with only alternate captains. There are currently foursquads without captains: Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senatorsand Vegas Golden Knights. The teams thatannounced new captains for 2019-20 werethe San Jose Sharks ( ),Carolina Hurricanes ( ), Toronto Maple Leafs ( ) and Vancouver Canucks ( ). The Sharks and Hurricaneswerethe only teams who lost their captains this offseason. Carolina'sJustin Williams is andSan Jose's former captain Joe Pavelski, . Although it is Jordan Staal's first time being a team captain, it is not the first time a Staal has captained the Carolina Hurricanes. His older brother, Eric, was the Hurricanes' captain from 2009-10 through2015-16. In the West, Couture is entering his 11th season with the Sharks and his first as captain. Currently ranked fourth in goals (240) and points (507) in Sharks Chelsea Jersey ' history, he is four goals behind teammate Joe Thornton all the all-time list. Tavares becomes the 25thcaptain of the Maple Leafs following a three-year span with no "C" on the chest of a Maple Leafs' sweater. The Canucks played without a captain last season(following Henrik Sedin's retirement)and announced Horvat as team captain at their home opener this season. So why do we need captains? In the NHL, captains arguably have the most significant role of any major sport. They are the only ones permitted to talk to the referee aboutrule interpretations per Rule 6.1 of the . It is also written that no team is permitted to have co-captains. So what are alternate captains for? Well first things first, the proper term is "alternate captain" contrary to thepopular belief that the "A" stands for "a sistant captain." E sentially the alternate captains are there totake over the responsibilities of thecaptain if he is not on the ice. In fact, according to Rule 6.1, if a player(captain, alternate or neither) leaves the bench and "makesany protest or intervention withthe officials,"they will be a se sed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. It is also clearly stated that disagreements over penalty calls are not considered rule interpretations. There is a limit to the number of captains a team can put on the ice in a given contest. No team is allowed more than three letters, either a captain and two alternates or three alternates may take the ice in a given game. You might be asking yourself, "How then are there more than three names listed for Albania Jersey some teams?" Great question.Teams work around this rule by a signing different players as alternate captains for home and away contests. One morethingto note:goaltenders are not permitted to be captains or alternate captains.Sorry. Eastern Conference The longest-tenured captain in the NHL is Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins,entering his 14th season wearing the "C" on his chest. Staal and Tavares arethe only first-year captains in the Eastern Conference. The next-shortest-tenured captains are Buffalo's Jack Eichel, Florida's Aleksander Barkov, Montreal's Shea Weber and the New York Islanders'Anders Lee who are all entering their second season as team captains. The Red Wings, Rangers and Senators were all without a captain for the first time last season anddo not have one listed for this year. Team Captain Alternates Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci Buffalo Sabres Jack Eichel Marcus Johan son, Jake McCabe Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Staal Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin Columbus Blue Jackets Nick Foligno Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner Detroit Red Wings Justin Abdelkader, Luke Glendening, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, Keith Yandle Montreal Canadiens Shea Weber Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher New Jersey Devils Andy Greene Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac New York Islanders Anders Lee Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck, Andrew Ladd New York Rangers Jesper Fast, Chris Kreider, Marc Staal, Mika Zibanejad Ottawa Senators Mark Borowiecki, Ron Hainsey, Jean-Gabriel Pageau Philadelphia Flyers Claude Giroux Sean Couturier Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin Tampa Bay Lightning Steven Stamkos Victor Hedman Toronto Maple Leafs John Tavares Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews Washington Uruguay Jersey Capitals Alex Ovechkin Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson Western Conference The longest-tenured captainin the Western Conference is a tie between Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Minnesota's Mikko Koivu, each entering their 12th season as captain of their respective clubs. The newest captains entering the season in the West areCouture (San Jose) and Horvat (Vancouver). The Golden Knights have never had a team captain and now enter their third season in the NHL. The Canucks' previouscaptain was Henrik Sedin in the 2017-18season. Team Captain Alternates Anaheim Ducks Ryan Getzlaf Ryan Kesler Arizona Coyotes Oliver Ekman-Lar son Niklas Hjalmar son, Derek Stepan Calgary Flames Mark Giordano Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook Colorado Avalanche Gabriel Landeskog Erik Johnson, Nathan MacKinnon Dallas Stars Jamie Benn John Klingberg, Alexander Radulov, Tyler Seguin Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid Adam Lar son, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Los Angeles Kings Anze Kopitar Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty Minnesota Wild Mikko Koivu Zach Parise, Ryan Suter Nashville Predators Roman Josi Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Filip German Bundesliga Jersey Forsberg, Ryan Johansen San Jose Sharks Logan Couture Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Erik Karl son, Joe Thornton St. Louis Blues Alex Pietrangelo Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko Vancouver Canucks Bo Horvat Alexander Edler, Brandon Sutter, Christopher Tanev Vegas Golden Knights Reilly Smith Winnipeg Jets Blake Wheeler Dustin Byfuglien, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morri sey