The Blue Jackets are one of only three NHL teams who aren't naming a captain this season, instead going with a group of alternate captains.
Joining the Blue Jackets in going without a captain for 2026-27 are the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings, who stripped the captain's 'C' off center Dylan Larkin
after he issued a trade request in the summer that hasn't been met yet.
Larkin's longtime friend, Zach Werenski, is also in limbo with the Blue Jackets after questions about his commitment to stay in Columbus long-term led to trade speculation around the draft and start of free agency in late June and early July.
Werenski, last season's Norris Trophy recipient as the NHL's top defenseman,
is the only Blue Jackets player who will wear an alternate captain's 'A' in every game this season while a group of additional leaders rotates through as alternates.
The Canucks, meanwhile, decided under first-year coach Manny Malhotra not to name a captain unless one emerges over the course of the season. Malhotra, a former Blue Jackets center, told reporters in Vancouver that he didn't want to force leadership roles onto players just for the sake of doing it.
The NHL's other 29 teams have established captains, but 10 teams were without captains as recently as the draft held June 26-27 in Buffalo, New York.
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets 1 of 3 NHL teams not designating a captain
