Mark Giordano as the first captain in Kraken history was a no-brainer once he was selected. The long time captain of the Calgary Flames was a veteran of nearly 1000 games (at the time he was selected) and a highly respected individual. Once he was traded at the deadline, the captaincy was vacant and months later that remains the case.

There are a number of individuals of could be captain this season and now seemed like as good a time as any to go over those names and discuss. Here are the players that could be the next captain of the Seattle Kraken.

JORDAN EBERLE

At 32 years of age, Jordan Eberle now finds himself as one of the most veteran players on the team with 858 games under his belt. Drafted by the Oilers, Eberle was a strong top six sniper for the team for many years before being traded to the Islanders where he continued to produce at a 20+ goal rate before being selected last year by the Seattle Kraken.

Consistency has always been the name of the game for Eberle and as captain he would continue to be a steady presence on the ice while I would assume from his demeanor being a calm voice in the locker room. Eberle has always come across as a very likable individual and has worn an "A" many times throughout his career, including last season and knows how to speak with the on ice officials.

With two more years on his contract there could at least be some consistency in the locker room as it would be unlikely to see him traded this year should the Kraken be sellers at the deadline once more. There are other reasons to like having a two year captain which we will get into later.

YANNI GOURDE

It really feels like Gourde has been around longer than he has but the 30 year old forward has only really made his presence in the NHL known since the 17/18 season where he put up 25 goals and 64 points in 82 games, a feat he has not matched since, though he did come close with a 21 goal season last year despite missing the first month to injury.

Gourde won two Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was in the locker room with great leaders like Hedman, Stamkos, Point, Kucherov and more. He has seen what it takes to win not one, but back to back Stanley Cups and as captain could certainly bring that voice to the locker room. Gourde has three years left on his deal which would take him to age 33 and like Eberle should still be able to be a strong on ice participant in addition to his off-ice voice.

ADAM LARSSON

Currently there are only 3 captains in the NHL who are defensemen, (Josi, Trouba, and Spurgeon) and Adam Larsson could be #4. Larsson is an absolute workhorse who regularly takes on the tough minutes and is always willing to sacrifice his body to help out the team. In terms of leading by example in a more rugged fashion as opposed to by pure skill, Larsson is the guy. This makes more sense, especially for an expansion roster like the Kraken that will need to fight tooth and nail for every point they can manage (though with the recent skill additions that may be a bit less true).

One reason I can see Larsson not wanting the captaincy is that he appears to not enjoy being in the spotlight as much. I have heard from the Oilers blogger that Larsson wasn't comfortable with some of the media situations in Edmonton and very understandably struggled after the sudden passing of his father. Larsson is a great leader regardless of whether or not he wears the C and he may just be happy in the role he currently has with the team.

JARED MCCANN

McCann is an interesting player for the Kraken. Old enough to be considered a veteran on this team but young enough to still not have reached his full ceiling and be considered a "core" player moving forward. McCann is currently locked up until the end of the 26/27 season and last season led the team in both goals and points. He isn't the typical "star player captain" by your typical standards but for an expansion team like Seattle that may not be a bad thing.

Or it could be, especially if you start looking at the Seattle roster and realize that McCann will likely not have the same top unit minutes that he enjoyed so much last season. McCann with a strong roster around him might end up being as low as a third line player for this team. It isn't impossible to have a captain playing that few minutes but it does certainly make it tougher for him to get engaged with the on-ice officials when he isn't on the ice as often.

PHILLIP GRUBAUER

Do it you cowards.

NO ONE

There is another scenario that seems quite possible to me and that is for the team to not have a captain this season, instead running a number of alternates. One of the reasons for this could be is if the team wants to have one of Matthew Beniers or Shane Wright be the captain right away. Both of these players are being prepped to be the potential faces of the franchise for the next decade and if they show this season they are ready to be regular impact forwards than one of them could be handed the C for the start of the 23/24 season.

If the team feels that is rushing them too much and they are not ready for that kind of role, having someone like Eberle or Gourde hold the captaincy until they reach free agent before passing it on to the next generation may be the most prudent plan. There is far more excitement and hype for the Kraken this season as they could be led by this new influx of young talent. If Beniers or Wright take the reins quickly, it may not be long before they are rocking a "C" as well.

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