In the NHL nowadays, it’s more common than not to have a named captain. Currently, only six teams in the NHL are left captainless: the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning. The sixth and final team on that list is none other than the Utah Hockey Club, who, of course, have never had a captain since this is their inaugural season.
Related: Coyotes’ Clayton Keller Deserves to Be Team’s Next Captain
However, before Utah, the Arizona Coyotes had four captains in their history: Keith Tkachuk, Teppo Numminen, Shane Doan, and, most recently, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in 2021, and since then, the Coyotes have yet to have a captain.
With the 2024-25 season on the horizon, we look at why Clayton Keller should be named captain and why he’s the face of the franchise.
Keller Is the Face of the Franchise
The 2016 NHL Draft class housed some elite talents known to the NHL to this day. Those include Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk (both born and raised in Arizona), Patrick Laine, and Keller. Keller was taken with the seventh overall pick, and from the get-go, he had a fantastic rookie season with the Coyotes, nearly taking home the Calder Trophy.
Keller suffered a significant injury in the latter half of the 2021-22 season when he fractured his femur, which, as most know, is a severe injury. He was having an All-Star season until that point, and questions loomed about whether he could regain that speed of play he was at. Despite the doubt, Keller returned and tied Keith Tkachuk’s record for the most points in a single season with the Coyotes at 86, putting him with some of the greats in the history of the Coyotes.
Now, with Utah, Keller is the clear-cut face of the franchise. Sure, a player of Mikhail Sergachev’s caliber could be deemed the franchise’s face, but Keller’s resume with the team is unmatched. He is one of the longest-tenured players and has been through the thick of a mega rebuild, which saw the team trade away nearly everyone.
Keller not only has the skills to be Utah’s captain, but he also has the experience and understanding of what it truly takes to become a leader in the locker room. Only time will tell, but if Utah were to name Keller captain, they’d be making history.
Utah Would Make History by Naming Keller Captain
We already touched on it a bit, but the Coyotes hadn’t had a captain since Ekman-Larsson, and since then, the team has been captainless. Of course, as we know, the history of the Coyotes is not coming over with the relocation to Utah as this is an entirely new franchise, and there will be new records this season. Thus, if head coach Andrei Tourigny were to name Keller captain, they would be making history by doing so.
Keller has proven to be a leader in the locker room as this lengthy rebuild has gone on, and Utah would make waves throughout the NHL by naming him captain. Of course, plenty of other players could be in the conversation: Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, and even newcomer Sergachev, who has already won two Stanely Cups at the age of 26.
By naming Keller captain, they would make history and take a baby step in the rebuild process, as they have a leader on and off the ice.
Tourigny Should Have a Captain This Season, and Keller is the Perfect Choice
With Utah entering its inaugural season in the NHL, there is not only pressure to succeed immediately as the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken did, but more eyes on the team than usual. Instead of having Mullett Arena be the talk of the town, why not name your superstar captain and kick off the 2024-25 season with a bang? Of course, this will be up to Tourigny, who has voiced his appreciation for having multiple alternate captains, and we may see that again this season. That said, Keller is a picture-perfect captain to drive Utah to the promised land in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup.
