Finally the speculation ends at noon today.
Here are the candidates as I see them:
* Jordan Staal - Vet, well spoken, leader, alternate captain for years. Cons - His public media waffle about wanting to be here after Eric was let go. Brief as that was, it happened.
* Justin Williams - Vet, leader. Cons - Cripes he just got back here!
* Justin Faulk - Still young but our most veteran blueliner. Has been alternate captain. Cons - A little soft spoken.
* Jeff Skinner - Our best offensive player, one of the clear faces of the franchise, been here a long time now, part time Alternate last season. Cons - I think he has stepped up his leadership, but I don't see a captain there.
* Jaccob Slavin - This guy is my dark horse. In his brief time here is has established himself as big time/full time community presence. He is all Canes all the time. He is also committed here for 8 more seasons. Cons - There may be some, ie. not sure if he is ready to take on the role of captain yet (or if he even would want it).
One thing to consider....typically a team is going to give out the letters to 2 forwards and 1 Dman. So if you are handicapping this today, a letter on Faulk possibly means no letter on Slavin (or the other way around). I'm not quite sure Faulk would care that much about that if Slavin is named captain. This is not a set rule of course, both Slavin and Faulk can wear letters, its possible that could happen.
My prediction? I have 2 of them:
* The 'don't shake the tree' prediction:
C - Jordan Staal
A - Justin Williams on the Road, Jeff Skinner at Home (swapped after 41 games)
A - Justin Faulk
* The 'yeah, this guy is and will be our rock for a very long time' prediction:
C - Jaccob Slavin
A - Jordan Staal
A - Justin Williams on the road, Jeff Skinner at Home (swapped after 41 games) OR Justin Faulk (full A) OR all 3 of these guys rotate an 'A'
I think the Canes go with 'don't shake the tree'.