Poll: Was Going With Co-Captains the Right Choice?
Today Ron Rolston and the Buffalo Sabres put the fans out of their misery by announcing the next captain of the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo Sabres have decided to move forward with both Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott co-captaining and leading the team into the future. Yes that’s correct, the Sabres entering a rebuild and needing direction decided that they could not choose just one captain and went with 2 instead.
Ott and Vanek will co-captain the Sabres, with Vanek wearing the C for home games and Ott getting the honour for away games. Because that makes perfect sense right? Now there are a few parallels to the last time the Sabres used co-captains in 2005-2006. Danny Briere and Chris Drury were the last tandem to co-captain the blue and gold and we all know how well that ended. Well both Vanek and Ott are in the last year of their contracts before they become UFA’s, is a repeat of history in order?
Somehow naming co-captains is something that only the Buffalo Sabres could think of. One captain for home and one for the road is
probably a tad too much. It kind of looks like they didn’t want to hurt Thomas Vanek’s feelings so they game him the C, but really wanted to move forward with Ott as their captain. If this is the Sabres attempt at trying to convince Vanek to stay, it’s pretty sad.
It’s clear he wants out and now having to share the role of captain, with someone who easily take over the reins, won’t help matters. He may feel this is more of a snub then when Jason Pominville was given the C over him, imagine how hard it would be to captain a team when you only get to where the C at home? It’s like a step-parent trying to discipline their children; “You’re not my parent” they yell and run to the other person in charge. How long before the players start to favour one captain over the other?
Joining Ott and Vanek as the leadership of the Sabres is defenceman Christian Ehrhoff who will sport the A both at home and on the road.
The Sabres needed to pick a leader who would get the team on the right track and help them set the direction they will be heading for the rebuild and they failed to do so. Getting both Vanek and Ott on the same page will be difficult, especially since Vanek wants out-of-town and Ott is a team favourite. Ott is more vocal and will likely end up as the “real” captain of this team even when he isn’t sporting the C. But at least no one’s feelings were hurt in the naming of the captain right? Is it just me or does this seem like a move Lindy Ruff would certainly pull?
Also worth noting, this could be the second consecutive season the Sabres trade their captain away at the trade deadline. Why is this team incapable of naming a captain that will be around long-term?
Today’s poll question is pretty simple; Did the Buffalo Sabres make the right choice by going forward with co-captains? To me this screams cop-out. What do you think of the idea of having duel captains?