Captains of the Carolina Hurricanes: A Retrospective

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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 21: Jordan Staal #11 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates his overtime game-winning goal with teammates Brett Pesce #54 and Justin Faulk #27 during NHL game action against the Toronto Maple Leafs January 21, 2016 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk

Okay, raise your hand if you thought the decision to name co-captains was a good one.

You can’t see me, but I promise you that my hands remained firmly planted on my keyboard.

Following a season that saw the Hurricanes go without a captain, head coach Bill Peters decided that going the other direction would yield better results.

It didn’t.

I love Jordan Staal as much as the next guy and I appreciate what he brings to the team. Despite the way that 2017-18 went, I would fully support his return to the captaincy should Justin Williams decided against returning.

I won’t dog Justin Faulk either, but I never got the sense in having two captains. It didn’t play particularly well for the team either as the Hurricanes saw their point total drop by four from the prior season. Playoffs remained a dream.

To Staal’s credit, his production was in line with what we’ve come to expect. His demeanor seemed well-suited to serve as captain and, if it negatively affected his mindset, it didn’t show. Faulk, on the other hand, saw his goal output drop from a career-high 17 down to 8, while he also posted the worst plus/minus of his career.

Memorable moment: The day the co-captaincy ended.

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