Former Canucks captain Bo Horvat reveals who the next captain should be in Vancouver and it's not J.T. Miller
I'm sure that former Canucks captain Bo Horvat is just happy to be out of the messy situation unravelling in Vancouver this season. Now, having been dealt to the New York Islanders, Horvat can focus on helping the Isles get back into the playoff picture. He may have been the ideal candidate for the Isles, considering that their biggest need was someone who could score goals. Well, Horvat has scored nearly as many as Auston Matthews in the last 365 days, so I'd imagine that Lou Lamoriello is happy that he could get a deal done for Horvat.
As far as the situation Horvat is leaving behind in Vancouver, the President of Hockey Ops for the Canucks, Jim Rutherford, recently expressed his desire to kick off a bit of a culture shift in Vancouver by moving on from several roster players and allowing the team's new perceived core to take over. Per a recent report, it is believed that the organization now views Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Andrei Kuzmenko as the new core.
With Horvat now out of the picture, the Canucks will need a new captain. Obviously, the team is likely not in a rush to name one, but if Horvat had a vote, he revealed on Thursday that he would back Pettersson for the team's next captain over feisty veteran J.T. Miller.
There have been plenty of rumours over the years that Miller is not the most popular guy in the locker room. There are some perceived character issues there and we saw a little bit of that earlier this season when he very publicly berated Collin Delia for not leaving the ice immediately as Miller gained possession of the puck to bring on an extra attacker late in a close game that the Canucks were down in. His behaviour towards the media shortly thereafter was also pretty embarrassing.
Pettersson is one of the brightest young stars in the game and is having a phenomenal year, despite Vancouver's very obvious struggles. The 24-year-old has notched 6 points in his last 5 games and 58 points in 47 games so far this season. He's among the more popular players in the locker room and appears to have a great attitude, which can only bode well for the future of the organization if they are able to retain him long-term. Perhaps offering up the captaincy is a good way to ensure that he remains in the fold, allowing the Canucks to build around him.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 2 | 102 ANSWERS Former Canucks captain Bo Horvat reveals who the next captain should be in Vancouver and it's not J.T. Miller Who should the Canucks' next captain be? | ||
| Pettersson | 46 | 45.1 % |
| Hughes | 26 | 25.5 % |
| Miller | 18 | 17.6 % |
| Other | 12 | 11.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
