CAPTAIN CARLYLE

The captain switch is happy/sad time for me.

Happy because I think Brenden is going to be a great one.

Sad because I know Mike took great pride in being one.

It was an inevitability, this "C" switch, and perhaps a perfect time for it never would have existed. It's just that it conjures up such conflicting thoughts when it actually gets consumated.

I guess we can all take joy in the fact that captain changes don't go down in hockey like Don changes in the Costra Nostra! (Nobody is happier about that than Mike)

But they are as potentially impactful.

A captain in hockey is a revered figure and how he acts, reacts and plays can effect a lot of people.

Many past captains have attained near-godlike stature (Or "statue" if you are a knee jerk reacting, gold digging, right out of the wrapper haired personal publicist of a vitamin chugging, media whore wide receiver)

But staying on point, some teams today don't put much stock in the letter C. Sadly, they treat the honor more like an employee of the month prize than a prized leadership position. (These teams are usually found somewhere in seeds 9 thru 15 come playoff time)

So is a good captain a vocal guy? An intimidating guy? Your best player? What?

Stars management wants The Captain to be the embodiment of the franchise's identity.

After watching Brenden Morrow play for 5 or 6 years now, I truly hope that going forward this team's identity mirrors his.

And with the likes of Modano, Lindros, Barnes, Turco, and Sydor around him he'll have a lot of support.

Kinda like when Derian was a youngish captain here.

Which brings me to my final thought;

Only one team in the history of the NHL has won the Stanley Cup with a non-Canadian captain.

Mike Modano is American.

Brenden Morrow is Canadian.

The only problem with this little factoid...US born Derian Hatcher is that one captain.

I don't think I have to give you the team that won it.