Conflicting reports surface on who will be named Flames next captain

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Matt Garland
October 11, 2022 (2:27 PM)

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The Calgary Flames elected to not name a captain heading into the 2021-22 season. It'd be the first season since 1990-91 that the team would be without a captain after losing their former captain Mark Giordano to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft.

Instead, the club rolled out four alternate captains with Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Chris Tanev taking on the «A» duties this past season, and at times Johnny Gaudreau as well.

Monahan, Tkachuk and Gaudreau are not with the franchise anymore. It's time for a new leadership group to be formed.

Reports are confirming that major summer acquisition Jonathan Huberdeau could be the next captain of the Flames.

Huberdeau is a veteran who has quickly embraced his identity as a Calgary Flames player. Committed to Calgary for the next nine seasons after signing an $84-million extension. Huberdeau has made his intentions clear. He wants to be a leader on and off the ice. That decision was made quickly after he spent a week or so studying up on the team that made him feel so wanted.

«I know it's a good city to play hockey in. The community is great. At the end of the day, I wanted to sign long-term,» Huberdeau said after signing the massive deal. «They traded for me and I know that they wanted me and they were talking highly about me. When you hear that, you want to play for a team that wants you. That's why it was so important to me to show dedication to them. I want to give back to the community already. I think I'm just excited to go there and get to know the city a bit more.»

His respect in choosing another number rather than asking Backlund for his No. 11 is more evidence of his character.

Although he doesn't correlate the contract to the expectations, he has for himself, he will use the coming weeks and months to get to know his teammates, become more comfortable and hope that ability and experience puts him in a position to lead.

«I don't really think about it to be honest. I'm not a guy that wants to put pressure on (myself). I know what I'm capable of, how I can play. I want to be a leader. Obviously, I'm there for a lot of years,» said Huberdeau, who wore a letter for the Panthers. «I want to be a leader on and off the ice and in the community, give back a lot. That's the kind of person I am and that's what I'm going to do.»

«I want to be a leader. I'm at an age where I can do that and that's what I want to do.»

Darryl Sutter did throw some fuel on the speculation today with his media comments.

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