# List of current NHL captains and alternate captains

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 32 teams, founded in 1917. Each team may select a captain, who has the "privilege of discussing with the referee any questions relating to interpretation of rules which may arise during the progress of a game." Each team is also permitted to select alternate captains, who serve when the captain is not on the ice. Captains are required to wear the letter "C" on their uniform for identification while alternate captains wear the letter "A"; both letters are 3 inches (7.6 cm) in height.
Rule 6.2 of the 2008–09 Official NHL Rulebook indicates that "[only] when the captain is not in uniform, the coach shall have the right to designate three alternate captains. This must be done prior to the start of the game." Many NHL teams with a named captain select more than two alternate captains and rotate the "A"s among these players throughout the season.
Goaltenders are not permitted to serve as captains during games. This rule was instituted in 1948 after teams complained that it took Montreal Canadiens goaltender Bill Durnan too long to skate to talk with the officials and back to his crease. Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo served as captain for two seasons (2008–09 and 2009–10), but because of the League's rule, he was not allowed to serve as captain on-ice or wear the "C" on his jersey, though it was incorporated into the artwork on his mask. As a result, the Canucks were allowed to dress three alternate captains in games, as opposed to the League standard of two. Two (of the three) alternate captains handled on-ice duties in Luongo's place. Other than Durnan and Luongo, five other goaltenders have captained their team: John Ross Roach of the Toronto St. Patricks, George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens, Roy Worters of the New York Americans, Alec Connell of the original Ottawa Senators and Charlie Gardiner of the Chicago Black Hawks.
When Connor McDavid was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers, he became the youngest permanent captain in NHL history. Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are the second- and third-youngest players to be named captain in NHL history, respectively. In 1984, Brian Bellows was named interim captain of the Minnesota North Stars when Craig Hartsburg was injured, and is the youngest player to captain a team in NHL history. However, because Bellows served only on an interim basis, McDavid retains the distinction of being the youngest permanent captain in the League's history. Mark Messier is the only player to captain two separate teams to Stanley Cup championships, those being the 1989–90 Edmonton Oilers and the 1993–94 New York Rangers. Sidney Crosby also became the youngest captain to win the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, when Crosby was just 21 years old. The oldest permanent captain in league history was Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, who turned 43 years old during his last NHL season (2019–20) with the Bruins. The longest tenure in league history was Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings, who served as captain of the Red Wings for nineteen seasons, over a span of twenty years.

## Key

† Spent entire NHL career with team
Position abbreviations :
| Abbreviation | Definition |
| C | Centre |
| LW | Left wing |
| RW | Right wing |
| D | Defenceman |

## Captains

Thirty of the thirty-two NHL teams currently have a captain. The two teams without a captain are the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers. Twenty-three of the thirty captains have been with their team for their entire career. The current longest-tenured captain in the league is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who has served in that role since May 31, 2007.
List of current NHL Captains :
| Team | Captain | Since | Pos |
| Anaheim Ducks | Radko Gudas | 2024–25 | D |
| Boston Bruins | Vacant | 2024–25 | — |
| Buffalo Sabres | Rasmus Dahlin† | 2024–25 | D |
| Calgary Flames | Mikael Backlund† | 2023–24 | C |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Jordan Staal | 2019–20 | C |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Nick Foligno | 2024–25 | LW |
| Colorado Avalanche | Gabriel Landeskog† | 2012–13 | LW |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Boone Jenner† | 2021–22 | C |
| Dallas Stars | Jamie Benn† | 2013–14 | LW |
| Detroit Red Wings | Dylan Larkin† | 2020–21 | C |
| Edmonton Oilers | Connor McDavid† | 2016–17 | C |
| Florida Panthers | Aleksander Barkov† | 2018–19 | C |
| Los Angeles Kings | Anze Kopitar† | 2016–17 | C |
| Minnesota Wild | Jared Spurgeon† | 2020–21 | D |
| Montreal Canadiens | Nick Suzuki† | 2022–23 | C |
| Nashville Predators | Roman Josi† | 2017–18 | D |
| New Jersey Devils | Nico Hischier† | 2020–21 | C |
| New York Islanders | Anders Lee† | 2018–19 | LW |
| New York Rangers | Vacant | 2024–25 | — |
| Ottawa Senators | Brady Tkachuk† | 2021–22 | LW |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Sean Couturier† | 2023–24 | C |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Sidney Crosby† | 2007–08 | C |
| San Jose Sharks | Logan Couture† | 2019–20 | C |
| Seattle Kraken | Jordan Eberle | 2024–25 | RW |
| St. Louis Blues | Brayden Schenn | 2023–24 | C |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Victor Hedman† | 2024–25 | D |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews† | 2024–25 | C |
| Utah Hockey Club | Clayton Keller | 2024–25 | LW |
| Vancouver Canucks | Quinn Hughes† | 2023–24 | D |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Mark Stone | 2020–21 | RW |
| Washington Capitals | Alexander Ovechkin† | 2009–10 | LW |
| Winnipeg Jets | Adam Lowry† | 2023–24 | C |
* ↑ Most recent captain, Brad Marchand, was traded to the Florida Panthers in March 2025.
* ↑ Most recent captain, Jacob Trouba, was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December 2024.

## Alternate captains

Thirty of thirty-two NHL teams have named at least the regulation two alternate captains, the exceptions being the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers. Of the eighty alternate captains, forty of them have been with their team for their entire NHL career. Teams that have named more than the regulation two alternate captains (or three in the case of teams without a captain) are required to rotate the two (or three) "A"s between those players by methods of their choosing. The current longest-tenured alternate captain in the league is Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who has served in that role since 2008.
List of current NHL alternate captains :
| Team | Alternate captain(s) | Since | Pos |
| Anaheim Ducks | Alex Killorn | 2023–24 | LW |
| Anaheim Ducks | Ryan Strome | 2024–25 | C |
| Boston Bruins |
| Boston Bruins | Charlie McAvoy† | 2023–24 | D |
| Boston Bruins | David Pastrnak† | 2023–24 | RW |
| Buffalo Sabres |
| Buffalo Sabres | Mattias Samuelsson† | 2024–25 | D |
| Buffalo Sabres | Tage Thompson | 2024–25 | C |
| Buffalo Sabres | Alex Tuch | 2024–25 | RW |
| Calgary Flames |
| Calgary Flames | Rasmus Andersson† | 2023–24 | D |
| Calgary Flames | Blake Coleman | 2024–25 | RW |
| Calgary Flames | Jonathan Huberdeau | 2022–23 | LW |
| Calgary Flames | Nazem Kadri | 2024–25 | C |
| Calgary Flames | MacKenzie Weegar | 2024–25 | D |
| Carolina Hurricanes |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Sebastian Aho† | 2021–22 | C |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Jordan Martinook | 2019–20 | LW |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Jaccob Slavin† | 2019–20 | D |
| Chicago Blackhawks |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Alec Martinez | 2024–25 | D |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Connor Murphy | 2021–22 | D |
| Colorado Avalanche |
| Colorado Avalanche | Nathan MacKinnon† | 2016–17 | C |
| Colorado Avalanche | Cale Makar† | 2023–24 | D |
| Colorado Avalanche | Devon Toews | 2024–25 | D |
| Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Erik Gudbranson | 2023–24 | D |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Sean Kuraly | 2023–24 | C |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Zach Werenski† | 2021–22 | D |
| Dallas Stars |
| Dallas Stars | Miro Heiskanen† | 2022–23 | D |
| Dallas Stars | Roope Hintz† | 2024–25 | C |
| Dallas Stars | Esa Lindell† | 2019–20 | D |
| Dallas Stars | Tyler Seguin | 2017–18 | C |
| Detroit Red Wings | Rotating | 2024–25 | — |
| Detroit Red Wings | Rotating | 2024–25 | — |
| Edmonton Oilers |
| Edmonton Oilers | Leon Draisaitl† | 2019–20 | C |
| Edmonton Oilers | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins† | 2015–16 | C |
| Edmonton Oilers | Darnell Nurse† | 2019–20 | D |
| Florida Panthers |
| Florida Panthers | Aaron Ekblad† | 2016–17 | D |
| Florida Panthers | Matthew Tkachuk | 2022–23 | RW |
| Los Angeles Kings | Phillip Danault | 2022–23 | C |
| Los Angeles Kings | Drew Doughty† | 2016–17 | D |
| Minnesota Wild | Marcus Foligno | 2021–22 | LW |
| Minnesota Wild | Kirill Kaprizov† | 2023–24 | LW |
| Montreal Canadiens |
| Montreal Canadiens | Brendan Gallagher† | 2015–16 | RW |
| Montreal Canadiens | Mike Matheson | 2023–24 | D |
| Nashville Predators |
| Nashville Predators | Filip Forsberg† | 2024–25 | LW |
| Nashville Predators | Ryan O'Reilly | 2023–24 | C |
| New Jersey Devils |
| New Jersey Devils | Jack Hughes† | 2022–23 | C |
| New Jersey Devils | Ondrej Palat | 2022–23 | LW |
| New York Islanders |
| New York Islanders | Bo Horvat | 2024–25 | C |
| New York Islanders | Vacant | 2024–25 | |
| New York Rangers |
| New York Rangers | Adam Fox† | 2023–24 | D |
| New York Rangers | Chris Kreider† | 2017–18 | LW |
| New York Rangers | Artemi Panarin | 2020–21 | LW |
| New York Rangers | Mika Zibanejad | 2018–19 | C |
| Ottawa Senators |
| Ottawa Senators | Thomas Chabot† | 2019–20 | D |
| Ottawa Senators | Claude Giroux | 2022–23 | RW |
| Philadelphia Flyers |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Travis Konecny† | 2023–24 | RW |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Vacant | 2024–25 | — |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Kris Letang† | 2017–18 | D |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Evgeni Malkin† | 2008–09 | C |
| San Jose Sharks | Mario Ferraro† | 2021–22 | D |
| San Jose Sharks | Barclay Goodrow | 2024–25 | C |
| San Jose Sharks | Tyler Toffoli | 2024–25 | RW |
| Seattle Kraken | Matty Beniers† | 2024–25 | C |
| Seattle Kraken | Adam Larsson | 2021–22 | D |
| Seattle Kraken | Jaden Schwartz | 2021–22 | LW |
| St. Louis Blues | Justin Faulk | 2023–24 | D |
| St. Louis Blues | Colton Parayko† | 2020–21 | D |
| St. Louis Blues | Robert Thomas† | 2023–24 | C |
| Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Nikita Kucherov† | 2022–23 | RW |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Ryan McDonagh | 2024–25 | D |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Mitch Marner† | 2019–20 | RW |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Morgan Rielly† | 2016–17 | D |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | John Tavares | 2024–25 | C |
| Utah Hockey Club | Lawson Crouse | 2024–25 | LW |
| Utah Hockey Club | Alexander Kerfoot | 2024–25 | C |
| Utah Hockey Club | Mikhail Sergachev | 2024–25 | D |
| Vancouver Canucks | Tyler Myers | 2024–25 | D |
| Vancouver Canucks | Elias Pettersson† | 2022–23 | C |
| Vegas Golden Knights |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Jack Eichel | 2023–24 | C |
| Vegas Golden Knights | William Karlsson | 2023–24 | C |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Alex Pietrangelo | 2020–21 | D |
| Washington Capitals | Nicklas Backstrom† | 2010–11 | C |
| Washington Capitals | John Carlson† | 2019–20 | D |
| Washington Capitals | T. J. Oshie | 2023–24 | RW |
| Washington Capitals | Tom Wilson† | 2023–24 | RW |
| Winnipeg Jets |
| Winnipeg Jets | Josh Morrissey† | 2019–20 | D |
| Winnipeg Jets | Mark Scheifele† | 2016–17 | C |