Current NHL Team Captains for 2023-24 are 1. Quinn Hughes 2. Sidney Crosby 3. Brady Tkachuk 4. Connor McDavid and 5. Jordan Staal.
The captains command their respective teams during the games. Only the team captains are allowed to speak to the game authorities regarding rules during a game.
When the captain is absent, the responsibility is handed over to one of the assistant captains. An NHL team has usually 2 to 3 alternate captains.
Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames don't have a captain on their team right now. These teams assign one of their assistant captains to run the team during different games.
The table here shows the NHL teams listed alphabetically along with their respective team captains.
| NHL Team | Captains |
| 1. Anaheim Ducks | Vacant |
| 2. Arizona Coyotes | Vacant |
| 3. Boston Bruins | Vacant |
| 4. Buffalo Sabres | Kyle Okposo |
| 5. Calgary Flames | Vacant |
| 6. Carolina Hurricanes | Jordan Staal |
| 7. Chicago Blackhawks | Vacant |
| 8. Colorado Avalanche | Gabriel Landeskog |
| 9. Columbus Blue Jackets | Boone Jenner |
| 10. Dallas Stars | Jamie Benn |
| 11. Detroit Red Wings | Dylan Larkin |
| 12. Edmonton Oilers | Connor McDavid |
| 13. Florida Panthers | Aleksander Barkov |
| 14. Los Angeles Kings | Anze Kopitar |
| 15. Minnesota Wild | Jared Spurgeon |
| 16. Montreal Canadiens | Nick Suzuki |
| 17. Nashville Predators | Roman Josi |
| 18. New Jersey Devils | Nico Hischier |
| 19. New York Islanders | Anders Lee |
| 20. New York Rangers | Jacob Trouba |
| 21. Ottawa Senators | Brady Tkachuk |
| 22. Philadelphia Flyers | Vacant |
| 23. Pittsburgh Penguins | Sidney Crosby |
| 24. San Jose Sharks | Logan Couture |
| 25. Seattle Kraken | Vacant |
| 26. St. Louis Blues | Brayden Schenn |
| 27. Tampa Bay Lightning | Steven Stamkos |
| 28. Toronto Maple Leafs | John Tavares |
| 29. Vancouver Canucks | Quinn Hughes |
| 30. Vegas Golden Knights | Mark Stone |
| 31. Washington Capitals | Alexander Ovechkin |
| 32. Winnipeg Jets | Adam Lowry |
The captain position of the Anaheim Ducks is currently vacant and alternate captains are chosen for the leadership during different matches.
The franchise has not assigned any player the job of captain since their long-time serving captain, Ryan Getzlaf retired after the 2021–22 season.
Getzlaf captained the team for 12 seasons from 2010 to 2012 and played a total of 17 seasons for the Ducks after being drafted by the franchise in the 2003 NHL Draft.
The Coyotes have been playing without a captain since 2021 after their most recent captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson was traded to the Canucks.
Ekman-Larsson played for the franchise from 2010 to 2021. The defenseman was named captain of the team prior to the 2018-19 NHL season.
Doan is the longest-serving captain (2003-17) in the Coyotes history. Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller are the current alternate captains of the team.
Patrice Bergeron was in the captaincy of the Bruins from 2021-23. Bergeron retired from the NHL after 19 seasons with the Bruins since 2003.
Currently, the club is playing its games without a captain. Before Bergeron, Zdeno Chara was captain of the Boston Bruins. Chara is also the longest-serving captain of the Bruins, who captained the team from 2006-20.
Kyle Okposo was selected as the captain of the Sabres franchise ahead of the 2022-23 season. Okposo has been playing for the team since 2016.
The right winger has recently signed a one-year contract extension with the team and will be in the captaining position for the 2023-24 season.
Okposo started his NHL journey with the New York Islanders in 2008. Previous to Okposo, Jack Eichel was captain of the team, who currently plays for the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Flames have not selected its captain after Mark Giordano was selected by the 2021 expansion franchise Seattle Kraken. Giordano captained the Flames from 2013-2021.
He was named the first captain of the Seattle Kraken. Giordano is currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having joined the team in 2022.
Prior to Giordano, Jarome Iginla was captain of the Flames franchise from 2003-13, serving the longest time as a captain in the Flames history.
The current captain of the Hurricanes is Jordan Staal. He has been in the position since September 29, 2019, replacing Justin Williams.
The captain played his 1000th NHL game with the Hurricanes on April 12, 2021. Staal joined the Hurricanes in 2012, who previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He became the Stanley Cup Champion with the Penguins in 2009. Moreover, his brother Eric Staal captained the Hurricanes from 2010 to 2016.
Currently, the position of the captain is vacant in the Blackhawks franchise. They will be playing without a captain in the upcoming NHL season.
Jonathan Toews was captain of the club for 15 seasons from 2008-23. Before him, Martin Lapointe was named an interim team captain in 2006.
Toews is an unrestricted free agent since his contract with the Blackhawks expired at the end of the 2022-23 season. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks three times in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Gabriel Landeskog is the current captain of the Avalanche. Selected in the 2011 NHL Entry draft, Gabriel was named for a leadership role in 2012.
Landeskog became the Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche in 2022. Moreover, the left winger was named to the 2019 NHL All-Star Game.
Joe Sakic was in the captaining position of the franchise from 1995 through 2009. After Sakic, Adam Foote and Milan Hejduk were selected as the captain of the club for short periods.
Boone Jenner was selected as the captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct 12, 2021. Zach Werenski is the only alternate captain of the team.
Jenner's journey with the franchise started in 2012. He completed his 500 NHL games in the 2020-21 season, all of them played with the Jackets.
Fans will be seeing Jenner captaining the team for the 2023-24 season since he has a contract period of one year remaining with the franchise.
Jamie Benn has been handling the captaincy of the Stars since September 2013, replacing Brenden Morrow. Benn is a pick of the 2007 NHL Draft.
Benn was awarded the Art Ross Trophy in 2015 for leading the league with 87 points in the regular season. He played his 1,000th NHL game with the Stars on February 6, 2023.
Dylan Larkin was selected as the captain of the Red Wings prior to the 2020-21 season. He recently signed an 8-year contract with the franchise.
Larkin was selected to the NHL All-Star Game back to back in 2022 and 2023, being selected in 2016 for the first time. Previous to Larkin, Henrik Zetterberg captained the Red Wings franchise from 2013-2018.
Connor McDavid became the youngest captain in the history of the NHL when the Edmonton Oilers named him the captain in October 2016.
McDavid won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2023 for leading the league in goals. The prominent center has won several other NHL awards as well including the Best NHL Player ESPY Award, Art Ross Trophy, and Hart Memorial Trophy.
Aleksander Barkov was elected as the captain of the Florida Panthers prior to the 2018-19 season. He started his career with the Panthers in 2013.
Barkov won the 2019 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and the 2021 Frank J. Selke Trophy. He was named to the NHL All-Star Game in 2018 and 2023.
Previous to Barkov, Derek MacKenzie captained the Panthers franchise from 2016 through 2018.
The Slovakian center, Anže Kopitar is the current captain of the Los Angeles Kings. He was given the significant leadership role on 16 June 2016.
Kopitar became the Stanley Cup champion with the Kings in 2012 and 2014. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2016 and 2023, including several other NHL honors in different years.
The Minnesota Wild's current captain is Jared Spurgeon. The Canadian defenceman was named the captain of the club in January 2021.
Prior to Spurgeon, Mikko Koivu served as the captain from 2009 to 2020. Koivu is the first-ever captain in the history of the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild franchise used to follow a rotation method among several of its players each month for the captaincy of the team. For this reason, the team didn't have a permanent team captain for its first nine seasons.
Nick Suzuki became the 31st captain of the Montreal Canadiens on Sep 12, 2022. Suzuki was named to the NHL All-Star Game in 2022 & 2023.
The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups in its history. Five of them were won under their captain Jean Beliveau, who captained from 1961-71.
The Swiss defenceman, Roman Josi is the current captain of the Nashville Predators. He was named the captain of the franchise before 2016-17.
Josi won the Norris Memorial Trophy in 2020. Prior to the tenure of Josi, Mike Fisher was serving as the team captain of the Predators franchise.
The New Jersey Devils' current captain on their roster is Nico Hischier. He was named the captain of the franchise during the 2020-21 season.
The first overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft won the E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence at the conclusion of his first NHL season and was named for the NHL All-Star Game in 2020.
Previous to Hischier, Andy Greene was in the captaining position of the Devils from 2015 to 2020.
The Islanders selected Anders Lee as their captain prior to the 2018-19 season. His career in the NHL started in 2012-13 season with the Islanders.
Lee was awarded the Bob Nystrom Award at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season for his leadership and dedication.
Previous to Lee, John Tavares was commanding the team and was named captain in 2013. He left the Islanders to join the Maple Leafs in 2018.
Jacob Trouba was named the captain of the NY Rangers on August 9, 2022. Before the Rangers, Trouba played for the Winnipeg Jets from 2013 to 2019.
The captaining position of the Rangers was vacant for four years until it was assigned to Trouba. Previously, Ryan McDonagh captained the team from 2014 to 2018. Then he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with whom he won the Stanley Cup back-to-back in 2020 & 2021.
The captain of the Senators franchise is Brady Tkachuk. The American left winger was drafted 4th overall by the Senators in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Tkachuk was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2019. Moreover, he has been selected for the NHL All-Star Game in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Previous to Tkachuk, Erik Karlsson was captain of the Senators for the term 2014-2018. Karlsson was traded to the San Jose Sharks after the expiration of the contract with the Senators.
The Flyers' captaincy position is vacant since their most recent captain Claude Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers on March 19, 2022.
He started his career in the NHL with the Flyers in 2008. Giroux has been named for the NHL All-Star Game seven times from 2011 to 2022.
In 2022, he was also selected as NHL All-Star Game MVP. Chris Pronger captained the Philadelphia Flyers prior to Giroux from 2011 to 2013.
Sidney Crosby has been serving as the captain of the Penguins since 2007. He also stands as the longest-serving captain in the franchise's history.
The Penguins have lifted the ultimate silverware of the Stanley Cup championship thrice in 2009, 2016, and 2017 under the captaincy of Crosby.
Sidney has won several other NHL awards including the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, and so on.
Logan Couture was named the captain of the San Jose Sharks in 2019. The Canadian hockey center debuted in the NHL with the Sharks in 2009.
Couture was selected to play the NHL All-Star Game in 2012 and 2020. However, he couldn't play the game in 2020 followed by injuries.
Previous to Couture's leadership in the team, Joe Pavelski was captain of the Sharks franchise from 2015 to 2019. Pavelski currently plays for the Dallas Stars and is an alternate captain of the team.
Seattle Kraken is playing its games without a captain since trading its first captain Mark Giordano to the Toronto Maple Leafs in March 2022.
Previously, Giordano was playing for the Calgary Flames and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2019 while playing for them.
The Kraken has currently elected four alternate captains for the team. They are Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson, and Jaden Schwartz.
Brayden Schenn was recently announced as the new captain of the St. Louis Blues. Schenn is the 24th captain in the history of the franchise.
The trio of Justin Faulk, Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko will serve as the assistant captains of the Blues for the upcoming 2023-24 NHL season.
The former captain Ryan O'Reilly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023. Ryan became the Stanley Cup champion with the Blues in 2019.
Additionally, O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Frank J. Selke Trophy in the same year. He currently plays for the Nashville Predators.
Steven Stamkos has been captaining Tampa Bay since March 2014. Stamkos was selected first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Draft.
Tampa Bay Lightning clinched back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 under the praiseworthy captaincy and leadership of Stamkos.
Steven won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2010 and 2012, leading the league in goals. He has been named for the NHL All-Star Game 7 times, most recently in 2022.
John Tavares has been the captain of the Maple Leafs since October 2, 2019. The position was vacant for more than three years after former captain Dion Phaneuf was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2016.
Tavares has been named for the NHL All-Star Game six times, most recently in 2019. He started his NHL career with the New York Islanders.
Quinn Hughes is the current captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes was named the captain of the Canucks franchise on September 11, 2023.
The American defenceman is the youngest captain currently in the league. He was picked first overall by the Canucks in the 2018 NHL Draft.
He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and NHL All-Star Game in 2020. Prior to Hughes, Bo Horvat captained the Canucks from 2019 to 2023.
Mark Stone is serving as the team captain of the Vegas Golden Knights. He was named for the position prior to the shortened 2020-21 season.
Stone led the team to become the Stanley Cup Champion in 2023. It was the first Stanley Cup for both the Golden Knights and the captain.
Before his journey with the Knights franchise, Stone was playing for the Ottawa Senators. Previous to Stone, Peter DeBoer was the team captain.
The Russian forward, Alexander Ovechkin is the current captain of the Washington Capitals. He was named for the position on 5 January 2010.
Ovechkin started his journey in the NHL with the Capitals in 2005. The player became the Stanley Cup champion with the Capitals in 2018.
He has received several NHL honors in different years, such as the Calder Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and more.
Winnipeg Jets named Adam Lowry the new captain of the club on September 12, 2023. The Canadian center was drafted by the Jets in 2011.
The alternate captains of the Winnipeg Jets are Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey. Previous to Lowry, Blake Wheeler served the team as its captain from 2016 to 2022.
