Edmonton Oilers: Taylor Hall Could Become Captain

What makes a player worthy of being the captain of an NHL team? If you go around the league and ask fans this question, you might hear some different answers. Some Chicago Blackhawks fans may say a captain is a complete player who embodies the personal maturity and focus required for consistent elite performance. But Washington Capitals fans may say a captain is the face of the franchise and the team’s clear-cut best player. Over the past eight years in Edmonton Oilers‘ captaincy has taken the form of a grizzled veteran, and though each captain demonstrated a certain maturity and focus during their reign, none have ever stood out as the team’s best player. And that’s by no means their fault.

More from Editorials

The Oilers organization was in limbo after losing game seven in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final until 2010, where the rebuild officially began with bottoming-out in the standings and selecting Taylor Hall 1st overall in the NHL draft. In that stage of limbo, Ethan Moreau was captain. It’s tough to say anything bad about the guy because he was a real bleed-for-your-team kind of player. But that being said, his ability to contribute offensively was very limited. After the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Moreau on waivers in late June of 2010, Shawn Horcoff took over, thereby becoming the first captain of the Oilers’ rebuild era.

Horcoff, 32 at the time, had spent his entire career with the Oilers (nine seasons), was more offensively productive than Moreau, and had certain strengths of considerable value to a young team, particularly his ability to win face-offs and his work in the corners to retrieve pucks. On a rebuilding team, Horcoff was a solid 2nd line center capable of managing a 1st line role if needed. In an ideal world, he would have spent the next five years as captain, slowly and naturally shifting down the line-up and in ice-time as his group of star protégés — Taylor Hall with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle — came to form and took over. But we don’t live in an ideal world, unfortunately. The team’s play and morale continued to struggle into 2013, so the revolving door that is Oilers’ management brought in new GM Craig MacTavish, who would trade Horcoff the following off-season to the Dallas Stars for D Philip Larsen (who would play 30 games as an Oiler) and a 7th round pick in the 2016 NHL draft.

Nov 25, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrew Ference (21) during the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Oilers 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Then Andrew Ference signed with the Oilers as a 34-year-old free agent, bringing with him a level of experience and maturity that the team lacked, especially after Horcoff’s departure. With such, he was anointed the captaincy almost immediately — an understandable choice by then new coach Dallas Eakins. But fast-forward two summers later and Ference, now 36, finds himself fighting for a spot on the Oilers’ suddenly crowded defence group entering the 2015-16 season. This is not a good place to have your captain in, especially with his contract extending through the 2016-17 season. How much positive influence can a captain have on his teammates if he has to battle for a spot on the team? And the battle will be tough; Darnell Nurse, Griffin Reinhart, Eric Gryba, Mark Fayne, Nikita Nikitin, and some even argue Brandon Davidson, are all in the running for the other three spots next to guaranteed locks Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, and Justin Schultz.

If you consider the absolute overhaul that has taken place within the Oilers franchise this off-season, you know, getting a new veteran CEO, a veteran GM, a veteran coach, and signing a franchise-prospect, it is clear that the time and opportunity for change is now. I mean, what could possibly be a better time to transform the image of the Oilers’ captaincy? While I, for one, say that it is time to pass the torch and officially reignite an era of success, how do we know who the best choice to give the ‘C’ to next is?

Nov 19, 2013; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers left winger Taylor Hall (4) celebrates his goal in the third period with team mates Jordan Eberle (14), Andrew Ference (21) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Chris Austin-USA TODAY Sports

For starters, if you look at the number of points tallied through the span of the past 10 years, 13 of the top 20 point-producers are or have been a captain in the NHL — that’s 65 percent of the group. So there’s clearly a relationship between point production and captains. No real surprise here. Since the Oilers started their rebuild in 2010, Taylor Hall has been the most productive of any Oiler, with an average of 0.88 points per games played (P/GP). Jordan Eberle ranks second with 0.80 P/GP. Hall is also the only player to reach (and surpass) 1.00 P/GP in a season (with at least 41 games played) since Ryan Smyth‘s 53 points in 53 games in 2006-07. Hall faired a 1.11 P/GP in 2012-13 with 50 points in 45 games, and followed with 1.07 P/GP the next season with 80 points in 75 games. Of the current captains in the NHL, six were given the ‘C’ after their fifth season, that is, just before or during their sixth. Hall’s 0.88 P/GP average over his first five seasons compares well with those six players’ average P/GP after their first five seasons.

Data retrieved via

NHL.com

. Bold rankings indicate playoff teams.

This table suggests that Hall can produce at levels worthy of captaincy, and has done so on the least successful teams of the bunch. It could also be noted that Ryan Getzlaf and Eric Staal entered the league during an era of higher scoring than the one present.

But, of course, point production does not instantly equal leadership, as Todd McLellan pointed out last Thursday on 630 CHED-AM with regards to his evaluation of the captaincy situation in Edmonton:

"…the way they carry themselves, the way they react in certain situations. Are they verbal leaders? Are they physical leaders? Are they both? How do they react in successful situations? How do they react to failure? How do they interact with their teammates? I can’t answer any of those questions as a coach right now."

As fans, we are not privy to what is said on the ice or in the locker room. We don’t know what players really think of one another or about the team itself. So we must make due with what we see.

I’ve learned a lot about myself on and off the ice the past five years, and even though it was difficult and frustrating, I truly believe it helped me. I’m better prepared to deal with adversity now. I’m mentally tougher and winning gold [at Worlds] reinforced and reignited my passion for the game – Taylor Hall, Edmonton Journal

Over the past five years, I’ve seen Hall’s on-ice personality slowly ease back. No more bickering to referees about calls or losing his cool to the dirtier hits and other pesky tactics thrown his way. He’s become unfazed, focused only on his game and his team’s performance. In his earlier years, it seemed as if he felt pressured to do it all himself every time he stepped on the ice, and though sometimes successful, it was not all efficient. In this process of learning how to share the puck and utilize his teammates, he’s actually become quite the playmaker with one heck of a saucer pass in his back pocket.

In the end, whether before, during, or after the 2015-16 season, a new captain will be named. In my mind, Hall has been the guy for the job for some time now. His sheer presence on the ice has been unmatched by any other Oiler since he joined the team as a rookie. But then enter Connor McDavid, aka The Next One. McDavid will bring a presence entirely of his own, leading some to argue that the Oilers should just wait another year or two and then slap the ‘C’ on him. It’s hard to argue against McDavid; the 18-year-old has been saying all the right things into the thousands of microphones that have been in his face since he was 14. A franchise-changing prospect who arguably surpasses the status of Sidney Crosby at the same age. Frankly, all you really have to say is The Next One…

Jul 2, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; NHL draft number one pick Connor McDavid takes part in the Edmonton Oilers rookie camp at the Rexall Center. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Still, as storybook good as McDavid and the ‘C’ sound, I find the idea of overlooking the players who have been with you since day one – for five tough years of losing – rather distasteful. But for now, the team’s captaincy is just one more interesting story to follow in Oil Country as we itch closer to training camp and the season opener in October. Stay tuned!

More from Oil On Whyte

Home/Editorials