The Captaincy of the NJ Devils has been under a lot of fan speculation ever since the departure of Jamie Langenbrunner. Right now we have 3 Alternate captains: Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Patrik Elias.
Well we need to decide on a long term captain, one that can give us the leadership and be the foundation of the team for years to come the same way Scott Stevens did. Here are a couple possible candidates:
Zach Parise #9: No one can doubt that ZP9 has been our core for the past few seasons and is most likely the top candidate for the "C" on his sweater. Zach came off a terrible season last year with a major injury he had early in the season and only returned for one game at the end of the season. If he wants the "C" the 163 goal scorer is going to have to prove he's the man for the job.
Ilya Kovalchuk #17: Mr Koval-clutch proved last season that he's a powerhouse of goals with miraculous sniping ability and a knack for finding open ice for himself. For his standards his season last year was poor but still was able to carry the Devs through the comeback I dubbed "The Newark Miracle" which came within 6 points of coming full circle. OT goals and fan-pumping goal celebrations made watching the Devils play a true edge-of-your-seat thrill ride all throughtout the comeback. Whenever his skates touched the ice every team took notice.
Patrik Elias #26: Patty has been the captain before so he knows the ropes of being the leader. The Devils' all-time leading scorer is a true NJ Devil through-and-through. A strong season last year alongside the now traded Brian Rolston saw Elias pick up a hat trick. Just call him "Hattrick Elias".
Travis Zajac #19: Travis is now a main-stay with the Devils. He takes faceoffs almost as well as John Madden and can set up plays that can give his team a huge edge in any situation. Last season he broke Kenny Daneyko's consecutive game streak in a game against the Thrashers which I attended. The place erupted when Kevin Clark announced it.
Mattias Tedenby #21: I know he's just a kid, and may be a dark horse in this group but the Speedy-Swede proved last year he is a great player. Although defensively a slight liability his goal scoring and lightning agility proved dividends for NJ last season, including a beautiful backhanded penalty shot against the Caps in a crushing victory for the Devs.
Dainus Zubrus #8: Zoooooooby had a poor season last year and his aquisition has been called a bust by other NHL bloggers. However I feel Zoob has made a huge impact on the team. Look at any time he's in some sort of a scrum in a corner, he's so big that nobody short of Chara can take him out and always wins battles for the puck.
All in all, the fight for the captaincy is underway for Coach Deboer who has a tough decision to make. But there is no doubt that someone on this list will have a "C" sewen on their left chest by October.
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