Given the fact that the Flames captaincy has been vacant since Mark Giordano left in the Seattle expansion draft a year ago, the move does seem puzzling. Tkachuk seems like a natural fit as a captain, but perhaps the Flames saw something to the contrary. In the end, perhaps it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Tkachuk, who recently watched his younger brother,
Brady Tkachuk, become the captain of the Ottawa Senators.