Flames coach Darryl Sutter doesn’t plan on naming a captain

The Calgary Flames spent 2021-22 without a team captain, the first time the club has gone without one since 1990-91. While the season went well – they won the Pacific Division and advanced in the playoffs – many have wondered aloud if the club would name a captain for this season.

Wonder no more: asked on Tuesday morning, head coach Darryl Sutter said he doesn’t plan on naming a captain before Thursday’s opener against Colorado.

Here’s Sutter:

“There’s no need to name one. There’s no clear-cut one. I think our 30 and older age group, we have two guys that represent us very well, as quite honest, you could say co-captains in Mikael [Backlund] and Tanny [Chris Tanev]. But I also think in that group there’s what, about seven Stanley Cups? So those guys don’t have to have a C on them. They get it. So it’s still, it’s got to come out of that 23-29 age group. You’re still looking for it.”

Sutter also noted how difficult it is to be a captain on a team in Canada. He referred to Mark Giordano and Jarome Iginla as “easy players to make captains,” and noted they were top players, great in the community and great competitors, while noting that not all teams have captains.

Expect the Flames to use a group of three or four players wearing the alternate captain’s A throughout the season.