Anointing the young captain in the NHL

You can cross Sidney Crosby’s name out of the record book.

The Colorado Avalanche named Gabriel Landeskog the fourth captain in team history on Sept. 4, replacing Milan Hejduk, making him the youngest permanent captain in NHL history at 19 years and 286 days old, 11 days younger than Crosby was when he was bestowed the same honor.

Technically, Brian Bellows is still the youngest captain in NHL history as he wore the “C” for the Minnesota North Stars 155 days earlier than Landeskog, but he was only a captain on an interim basis as the team’s regular captain, Craig Hartsburg, sat out with an injury.

Ignoring Bellows, Landeskog joins Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier as the only NHLers to be named captain while still in their teens. He also replaces Jonathan Toews as the youngest captain in the league.

Although making Landeskog the youngest captain in league history is surprising, the Calder winner comes with a leader’s pedigree. In his last season of junior with the Kitchener Rangers, Landeskog became the first European captain in team history. Internationally, Landeskog has captained Sweden in the Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 World Championships, and was even an assistant captain for Sweden at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.

Really, the choice was obvious for the Avalanche.

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He was a two-way force in his rookie season, playing against some of the toughest competition yet still managing to lead the team in goals, shots, games played, plus/minus and hits.

It helps that Colorado doesn’t have much of a veteran presence either. Aside from J.S. Giguere, there are only three players older than 30­: Hejduk, Jan Hejda and Greg Zanon.

After struggling with injuries and playing in a bottom-six role last season, the exiting captain, Hejduk, felt it would be best to give the captaincy to someone else and informed head coach Joe Sacco that he wanted to relinquish the role. The seal of approval from Hejduk, who played with Joe Sakic, one of the finest captains in NHL history, should make the transition easier for Landeskog and should ensure locker room harmony.

Plus, choosing Landeskog as a leader fits for the up-and-coming squad. The Avalanche have the youngest team in the NHL, with most of their core players in their early-to-mid-20s, so it seems logical to give the captaincy to someone who will grow with the team. That thinking has worked before, and the Avalanche hope it can work again.

Both Crosby and Toews won a Stanley Cup within a few seasons of being named captain of youthful teams, and Lecavalier won his four years later, although by that point John Tortorella had stripped him of the title after a contract holdout.

Other young captains include Trevor Linden and Steve Yzerman, both named captain at 21, and Paul Kariya, a captain at 22, three men who eventually became some of the most iconic players in their respective franchise’s history.

It doesn’t work out every time, however. Bryan McCabe was the youngest captain in the league when the Islanders made the 22-year-old a captain in 1997. He only lasted 56 games before being traded to Vancouver for a more respected leader in Linden. But McCabe did go on to have a pretty strong career and was an assistant captain in Vancouver, Chicago, Toronto and a captain again in Florida. Really, his early exit from the island is better explained by Mike Milbury being Mike Milbury.

Unless Colorado GM Greg Sherman inexplicably trades Landeskog in his first season, this decision should be a slam dunk. Landeskog has the pedigree, he has the skills and he has the team’s support. Why wait?

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