Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Should the Senators lean on 'Captain' Karlsson?

06/23/2014 at 1:00am EDT

The Ottawa Sun's Don Brennan believes that the Senators should name Erik Karlsson their next captain, but Brennan's also not sure if the "C" fits:

Off the ice, Karlsson also displayed a lack of maturity last season by ripping a major sponsor on Twitter, more than once. Everybody gets frustrated by phone or cable issues, but a real leader of an NHL team doesn't criticize publicly those who help pay his hefty salary just because he has trouble making a connection.

Karlsson can be a good captain at some point. He's only 24, and he's smart. He'll learn. And maybe giving him the 'C' now will expedite his growth. The Senators have to only hope.

Karlsson will also have to grow a couple of layers of thick skin if he's going to wear the most prestigious letter in a true hockey market. With it comes even more scrutiny of one's game, Spezza can tell him. Karlsson knows all that is written and said about him as is. Can he continue to handle the negatives as well as the positives the way Daniel Alfredsson could? Or like Spezza, will he too have a breaking point?

The Senators will debate the options when making their final decision on naming a captain. The problem with this team is there are no slam-dunk choices.

Continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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