Alternate Captains
The role of captain isn’t just a symbolic one. It allows the player on the ice to speak to the referees and respectfully ask them questions. Rule 6.1 of the NHL rulebook specifically outlines this responsibility.
"Only the Captain, when invited to do so by the Referee, shall have the privilege of discussing any point relating to the interpretation of rules. Any Captain, Alternate Captain or any player who comes off the bench and makes any protest or intervention with the officials for any purpose shall be assessed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct under Rule 39 – Abuse of Officials. The Referee and Official Scorer shall be advised, prior to the start of each game, the name of the Captain and the Alternate Captains of both teams. No playing Coach or playing Manager or goalkeeper shall be permitted to act as Captain or Alternate Captain."
Not only are these players leaders in the dressing room, but their on-ice advocacy can potentially subconsciously sway game officials in the way they call the game. This same task falls on the shoulders of the alternate captains.
The NHL rules say that a team can only dress two alternates in a game but a team can give the position to as many players as it likes to share the responsibilities throughout a season. When the Maple Leafs named Tavares as its captain, they also decided that they wanted three alternates. Defenceman Morgan Rielly was given the ‘A’ full time. The other duty was split between the forwards Matthews and Marner. The pair rotated as the team’s alternate captain last season.
There are other players on the Leafs who have also served as an NHL alternate captain. Simmonds spent five seasons in that role on the Flyers and T.J. Brodie had it for some games with the Calgary Flames during the 2015-16 season.
Even Zach Bogosian has worn the ‘A’. He had it on two different teams. He became an alternate captain on his first club, the Atlanta Thrashers, for the 2009-10 season. He then had it again for the 2017-18 season, while playing for the Buffalo Sabres.
The former captains were also former alternates. Tavares was an alternate for Streit on the Islanders and Thornton was both an alternate for the Bruins and Sharks. Spezza was an alternate for the Sens and the Stars.
One of the Toronto Maple Leafs new players, Barabanov, has also been an alternate captain playing professional hockey. He wore an ‘A’ on his SKA Saint Petersburg jersey while playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Time will tell if whether having so many captains on one team will equate to success. No matter what happens this season, at least the assembly of all the Leafs leaders has allowed for the creation of this article that uses the word “captain” a criminal 70 times.