With Kyle Okposo getting traded to the Florida Panthers last week, the Buffalo Sabres will need a new captain. It seems like the team will wait until the offseason or next season to name the next captain of the Sabres. At the moment, Buffalo will just have assistant captains for the rest of the year.
It got me thinking, who should be given the captaincy? The Sabres have some candidates who should be wearing the C next year for Buffalo. Even though they're the youngest team in the NHL, some players have captain material.
Okposo was a great captain for the Sabres. Even though his career with Buffalo wasn't impressive offensively wise, he embodied what it meant to be a Buffalo Sabre. He was a perfect role model and said the right things a captain should say.
With that being said, here are three candidates to be the next captain. Two will be popular names and one will be a surprising candidate.
1. Alex Tuch
Alex Tuch is the first candidate. Ever since coming over from Vegas in the Jack Eichel trade, Tuch has been a fan favorite. He was a Sabres fan growing up and after being acquired, Tuch lived out his childhood dream and was playing for his favorite team.
The Sabres winger cares so much about the organization and the city of Buffalo as a whole. Just his attitude of wanting to be a Sabre is refreshing. If he isn't given the captaincy, I would not be surprised if Buffalo made him an assistant captain.
Not only is he a skilled player, but he has a captain mindset and attitude to him. He's embraced being a Buffalo Sabre and it would be cool if he was the team's next captain.