Blues To "Address" Captaincy At Start Of Training Camp

The position of captain’s one that has been vacant for the St. Louis Blues since they traded away former captain Eric Brewer to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The merits of that trade were a matter of much discussion, especially since Brewer was having a good season last year – but just as much discussion was given to what it means for a team to be captainless. Brewer, who was captain for nearly three seasons, was a locker room guy that the team respected. When he left, remaining alternate captains Alex Pietrangelo, Barret Jackman, David Backes, and Alexander Steen had to pick up a significant amount of the leadership role of the team.

The Blues will be addressing this months-long vacancy at the start of their training camp on September 16th, according to Jeremy Rutherford. The frontrunner for the captaincy is assumed to be David Backes, whose on and off ice leadership is undeniable. Never one to shy away from either an interview or a fight, many Blues fans expected him to be named captain upon the Brewer deal, but out of respect for their former captain the team elected not to choose a captain for this season.

Another frontrunner is Barret Jackman. Drafted by the Blues in the first round of the 1999 entry draft, the former Calder Trophy winner has only played for the Blues, and has shown an extraordinary amount of dedication to the team and the St. Louis area.

This quote should cause some concern for Blues fans. GM Doug Armstrong mentioned this when speaking with Rutherford:

“We want to get the input of some of the other people in our organization – the coaches, some people in our management staff – and we’ll have that decision by the first day of training camp … whether we go with a group of players that will make up a leadership group or we name a captain.”

So, four “As” again? Please, no. Just pick one.