Jaccob Slavin
Jaccob Slavin, to me, is the most obvious choice as captain for the 2019-20 season and beyond if Williams does not return. A consummate professional if there ever were one, Slavin leads consistently on and off the ice. Not to mention, the man even has two ‘C’s in his name. One of those should obviously stand for ‘captain’, right?
Slavin is very involved in the local community, and has championed many initiatives off the ice in benefit of the community. Most recently, Slavin teamed up with Kioti Tractor in the Kioti Assist for Hunger initiative to end childhood hunger; the initiative raised $42,636 out of the initial $25,000 goal. Slavin personally contributed for each goal and assist he accumulated on the ice.
Not only is Slavin active in the community, he is also an impeccable leader on the ice. Slavin very rarely puts the Hurricanes in sticky situations, and has gotten them out of more than a few.
Jaccob Slavin is E L I T E pic.twitter.com/Ia2dHJQPr3
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 6, 2019
The 25 year-old blueliner has been consistent throughout the ups and downs of the franchise, and is a huge reason why the Hurricanes were able to turn their season around and put together a dazzling run from January 1st, all the way up until May 16th, when the Hurricanes’ postseason ended.
https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1094043683677196289
As I mentioned before, the Hurricanes have players with leadership ability in droves for the first time in a very long time. If Williams does indeed retire, he will be leaving some very big footprints behind. The culture that he and Rod Brind’amour have cultivated in Raleigh and in the locker room will last for years to come, and the players that are a part of it are completely bought-in. I, for one, believe that whoever Rod Brind’amour chooses to fill Williams’ massive footprints will undoubtedly do a phenomenal job.
Question for CC Readers: Who would you like to see as the next Hurricanes captain?