The Vancouver Canucks are one of eight NHL teams without an NHL captain, and with pre-season action getting underway than less than a month, teams will slowly start to announce their respective leaders, unless they continue to keep it vacant and roll with multiple assistants.
Team owner Francesco Aquilini released a statement to season ticket holders on Tuesday when it was announced that general manager Jim Benning was awarded a three-year contract extension. While Canucks fans were torn over the decision to re-up the GM, Aquilini gave vote confidence to Benning and may have let one slip on who will be the successor to Henrik Sedin as the next team captain.
"Bo Horvat's emergence as a quiet leader" certainly sticks out as Aquilini revealing his hand that the 24-year-old centre could wear the "C" soon.
Canucks fans picked up on the conspicuous clue.
It's no secret that Horvat is expected to be named the next team's captain, really.
He's emerged as the leader of the pack of the team's young and exciting core. Once expected to be a solid two-way third-line centre, Horvat climbed the ranks of the Canucks' depth chart by improving his skating and rounding out his offensive game under the guidance of Canucks legends Daniel and Henrik Sedin early in his career. He set a career-high in points last year with 61 and should see his numbers rise once again after Benning added Michael Ferland and J.T. Miller to the forward group, plus a full season with Tanner Pearson, who scored 9 goals in 19 games last year riding shotgun on Horvat's wing.
If it's not Horvat, then would you suggest? Perhaps Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Alex Edler or would fit the fold, but Horvat seems like the most logical and obvious choice, especially after that hint.
