The Chicago Blackhawks hit the jackpot when they won the draft lottery and drafted Regina Pats standout Connor Bedard with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft this past June. Bedard is a future star in this league, make no mistake about it. He may also be a future captain in this league as well. However, if another Blackhawks player has his way, it won't be anytime soon.
Seth Jones is just 1 year into an 8-year deal worth a staggering $9.5M per season and has publicly stated this week that he would like to be the next captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. Jones believes that he has what it takes to lead the Hawks after learning from some of the best in Jonathan Toews, Nick Foligno and Shea Weber.
Toews had served as the previous captain of the team since 2008, leading the Blackhawks to a trio of Stanley Cup victories during his tenure in Chicago. Jones had the opportunity to play under Toews in each of the last two seasons in Chicago, but with the Hawks embarking on a top-to-bottom rebuild, they opted not to bring back veterans like Toews and Patrick Kane in hopes of ushering in a new era built around some younger talent, such as Bedard, defenseman Kevin Korchinski, Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar and others.
The Blackhawks may very well just opt to not name a captain this season and roll with 3 or 4 alternates instead. However, there are a number of veteran leaders who signed in Chicago this summer as well who might be smart selections as short-term captains for a season or two until Bedard has a chance to get his feet under him in the NHL. The aforementioned Nick Foligno is an obvious choice if the Hawks decide to go that route. They've also got Taylor Hall, Tyler Johnson, Corey Perry and Connor Murphy as interesting options.
Jones is certainly a candidate, with his NHL experience and the fact that he's locked up long-term, but even if he isn't selected as the team's next captain, Jones has already stated that it won't change his role as a locker room leader and that he'll still be vocal in the room, on the ice and on the bench.
