You Pick BestYouPickBest

The 16 Greatest NHL Captains of All Time

By YPB Team

Some wore the C for one dynasty, some carried a franchise for two decades, and one of them guaranteed a win and then delivered it. Vote for the captain you would want on the ice with a series slipping away.

  1. Mark Messier — ranked #11
    Mark Messier
    Captained both the Oilers and the Rangers to Stanley Cups, and guaranteed one of them.
    1000pts
  2. Jean Beliveau — ranked #22
    Jean Beliveau
    Led Montreal to five Cups as captain, and to ten in all as a player.
    682pts
  3. Scott Stevens — ranked #33
    Scott Stevens
    New Jersey's captain through three Cups and the hardest shoulder of his era.
    568pts
  4. Mario Lemieux — ranked #44
    Mario Lemieux
    Captained Pittsburgh to back-to-back Cups, then came back and captained the team he owned.
    515pts
  5. Jonathan Toews — ranked #55
    Jonathan Toews
    Nicknamed Captain Serious, he had three Cups before turning 27.
    515pts
  6. Zdeno Chara — ranked #66
    Zdeno Chara
    At 6-foot-9 the tallest captain in league history, and a champion in 2011.
    515pts
  7. Sidney Crosby — ranked #77
    Sidney Crosby
    Took the Pittsburgh C at 19 and has won three Cups wearing it.
    515pts
  8. Joe Sakic — ranked #88
    Joe Sakic
    Captained Colorado for 17 years, two Cups, and one famous refusal to touch the conference trophy.
    384pts
  9. Wayne Gretzky — ranked #99
    Wayne Gretzky
    Wore the Edmonton C through three of the Oilers' four Cup wins in the 1980s.
    303pts
  10. Maurice Richard — ranked #1010
    Maurice Richard
    Montreal's captain for four straight Cups at the end of a combustible career.
    303pts
  11. Bobby Clarke — ranked #1111
    Bobby Clarke
    Captained the Broad Street Bullies to the only two Cups in Flyers history.
    303pts
  12. Nicklas Lidstrom — ranked #1212
    Nicklas Lidstrom
    The first European captain to win the Stanley Cup, in Detroit in 2008.
    303pts
  13. Steve Yzerman — ranked #1313
    Steve Yzerman
    Captained Detroit for 19 seasons and turned a scoring team into a three-time champion.
    206pts
  14. Alex Ovechkin — ranked #1414
    Alex Ovechkin
    Washington's captain since 2010 and the man who ended a 44-year wait for the Cup.
    206pts
  15. Denis Potvin — ranked #1515
    Denis Potvin
    Wore the C for all four New York Islanders championships.
    206pts
  16. Ray Bourque — ranked #1616
    Ray Bourque
    Boston's captain for 15 seasons, who finally lifted the Cup in Colorado.
    91pts
#sports#hockey#players#legends#all-time

Comments

Ovechkin has worn Washington C since 2010 and Gretzky captained four Cup winners, yet Mark Messier is why neither is the obvious pick: https://youpick.best/articles/ovechkin-vs-gretzky-ranked

YP
ypb-team·4h ago·
0/1000