The year-plus wait is over. The Carolina Hurricanes have a captain. Two in fact. Thursday at a PNC Arena press conference, general manager Ron Francis and head coach Bill Peters announced that forward Jordan Staal and defenseman Justin Faulk will serve as co-captains for the 2017-18 season.
The team will rotate the C for home and road games. For the first half of the year, Staal will wear it at home, and Faulk on the road, with a flip likely coming midway through the season. Forward Jeff Skinner will serve as the team’s lone full-time alternate captain.
“Obviously we’ve given this a lot of thought as an organization,” Peters said. “Myself as a coach and my coaching staff. … As I said to these guys though, it’s a special honor. I know it’s a proud day for them. … These guys lead on and off the ice. … I think with our leadership group, it doesn’t have to be a burden for anybody to be the leader on this team. Now, in my opinion, is the right time to name co-captains, because our team is in a position to make a push.”
Staal has been no stranger to being part of a leadership group in his career. He has served as an alternate captain every season since coming over in a 2012 offseason trade with Pittsburgh, and before that as a member of the Penguins.
He has served as a leader both on and off the ice in Raleigh. Staal plays some of the toughest minutes on the Canes as the top two-way center, shutting down the opposition’s top players while producing offense as well. He takes an active role in the community as well, running the Staal Family Foundation along with his brothers since 2012, a charitable organization dedicated to helping children and families dealing with cancer. Staal was an easy choice to serve as half of the team’s 2017-18 captaincy, and is ready for the honor of wearing the C.
“I’m just excited,” Staal said. “There’s no question. There’s only a select few players that get to play in the NHL, and to be honored with the C and be named to lead a team, there’s definitely no better excitement for myself. It’s an honor. There was just pure excitement and it’s pretty neat to start going down the list of guys that played and worn the C and some great players. I’m excited to be a part of that group.”
Giving the team a leader at both ends of the ice, Faulk brings plenty of merits to the table as well. He has been an alternate captain for the team the past two seasons, and leads the a young defensive core, playing big minutes in all situations as the top offensive weapon from the blueline.
Faulk, along with fellow American-born defenseman Noah Hanifin, runs the “True Defenders” program, which provides a free game night experience to military members and families for select games, showing his role as a leader for both the team and community as well.
“I’m pretty excited,” Faulk said. “It’s just a huge honor. You don’t necessarily ever expect to come in and say I’m going to be the captain of an NHL team. That’s a goal and you think about it a little bit, but you just come in and try and play hockey and be your best every day on and off the ice. If that point comes along, you just kind of sit there and think about where you start when you come into the organization day one to today. It’s a huge honor; I was pretty excited and I still am.”
A co-captaincy in the NHL is certainly a rare situation. The Canes will be the only team with two players wearing the C, and it has not been a common occurrence in league history. With many great captains from the team’s past in Francis and assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour still in the organization, however, Staal and Faulk will have plenty of options for advice and voices to fall back on as they try to lead the young Canes towards taking the next step. They’ll have plenty of motivation to do so as players who have been here several years without seeing the postseason.
“I think these guys have skin in the game for sure,” Peters said. “… Our team, with the moves we’ve made over the summer, these guys now have a real good team to lead. There will be no burden of wearing the C, because they have additional leaders in the room that are going to help them, guide them, and we’re going to help them too as coaches and management. When they have questions, the doors are open for communication.”
The team went all of last season without naming a captain after the departure of its last, Eric Staal. When Jordan dons the C ahead of Saturday night’s season opener against the Minnesota Wild, he will line up against the team’s last captain and his older brother.
As the Canes look to end their eight-year playoff drought, a few questions remain heading into opening night. One that persisted for an entire year, and has finally been answered, is that of the captaincy. The team will have two defined voices who will take responsibility for trying to lead the way forward this year.
Defenseman Justin Faulk carries the puck through the neutral zone looking for an open pass. Faulk, who served as an alternate captain last season, is a strong candidate for the captaincy, left open after the trade of former captain Eric Staal.
