Shortly before the Seattle Kraken took the ice for their inaugural NHL game in October of 2021, the franchise named its first ever captain: 38-year old defenseman Mark Giordano. Less than six months later, the Kraken traded Giordano to Toronto. They’ve been captainless since.

Unlike many other sports, where team leadership is more nebulous, the roles of captains and alternate captains are written into the NHL rule book. Captains wear a C on their sweaters and alternates wear an A. But a hockey team without a captain is not necessarily like a ship without one, destined to drift aimlessly over the rough seas.

In fact, the Kraken are one of five teams without a player wearing the C this season. Instead, they have four alternate captains: Adam Larsson, Yanni Gourde, Jordan Eberle, and Jaden Schwartz.

We spoke with team analyst Alison Lukan about what exactly the captaincy means in hockey, and why some teams like the Kraken opt not to have one.  

Could you explain how the captaincy works in the NHL?

 At its most fundamental, the captain is named by the organization. And that person formally has the responsibility to be the main point of contact with officials during the game. So there is actually a formal role for that person when they are on the ice.

Informally, off the ice, traditionally, this is a person who is the face of your organization, making appearances, being the voice of the team. This is often the person who is going to be the voice of the team in the locker room up to coaches and the front office, and vice versa. And it's usually someone who is a leader of the team, and also very strong on ice. One or both of those is usually a calling card of someone who's a captain.

What about alternate captains? 

They can be exactly what the title is, which is assistant captains. There can be two named on a game roster (or three if there is no captain), but an organization can name more than that, just like the Kraken have four right now, and the role just rotates. In the event that there is not a captain on the ice, the A is the person who could speak to the officials. And again, off the ice, the A or all of the As would take on some of those other leadership roles as well.

Why do some teams not name a captain? 

It can be for a variety of reasons. This role has so much to do with communication. Sometimes you feel like the communication within your group is already working very effectively and you don't need to name one person. Sometimes, you don't want to put the pressure of that role onto someone if it's a younger player, for example, or if you're a newer team. If you go back to Vegas, they did not name a captain their first year. And sometimes you're waiting to see if a leader will emerge from the room, as they like to say, as if someone will show that they are actually going to be the best person to take on that assignment. But it's not necessarily as required as some people think because, again, what really happens on and off the ice is that the players know who they can go to for assistance. And as long as there is effective communication with the front office and with the coaching staff, the letters are really a lot about being symbolic, not so much an official role.

Is there anything else that a new hockey fan should understand about captains and alternate captains?

I think that it is very understandable for new fans to think that something is wrong or missing if there isn't a captain because it is such a common thing in hockey. But the reality is that the team culture is what's more important. And players know who to go to, players know when to speak up about things. And so while it might seem different, it's not super different. And it's also not a bad thing if your team doesn't have a captain.

Do you envision the Kraken naming somebody in the next few years?

Yeah, you know, I think that Ron Francis has shown to be a really good evaluator of talent. And I mean that not just in terms of hockey skill, but in leadership or readiness. And I think that as this young core establishes itself, that he'll be looking to see if there are players there that are the best fit for that role. I think, ultimately, the team will have a captain. But I don't think that they're in a rush to do that right now.

Why can’t goalies be captains?

They're not allowed to. It’s actually in the NHL rule book now. But they could be in the past.