Should the Oilers Name a New Captain? (i.e should #94 get the C?)

 Should the Oilers Name a New Captain? (i.e should #94 get the C?)

One of the critical requirements on a young rebuilding team is leadership.  The Oilers are a team full of young and talented players, but one of several glaring holes on the team has been a lack of true leadership.

While Shawn Horcoff is a good quality NHL veteran who has a long tenure with the team and a ridiculous cap hit of $5.5 million per year (Thanks Kevin Lowe), it’s probably a little difficult for guys like Hall, Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and other young guns to really look up to him. 

Lets’ be blunt.  Horcoff at his best is a good 2^nd or 3^rd line centre on most teams. How many junior guys who were asked, who their favourite player was growing up said Shawn Horcoff?  I don’t know the exact answer to that, but I’m guessing not a whole lot.  How does a guy like Hall, who already has a more impressive resume than Horcoff look up a guy, who is nothing more than an average nhl player. Horcoff may be a good leader in the dressing room, but he is clearly not the go to guy on the ice. 

Believe me, this is not a knock on Horcoff, but if the Oilers want to be taken seriously around the league and want the best in terms of the development of their future stars, it makes sense to have a captain that has respect around the league.

The closest thing the Oilers have right now in terms of that type of player is Ryan Smyth.  While more than a few mullet jokes will be invented this upcoming season, it’s obvious that Smytty holds a level of respect around the league and probably among oiler fans,  that Horcoff simply doesn’t.    Captain Canada has shown leadership both at the NHL and international levels and it’s difficult to question his ability to rise to the occasion in big games.

If he's good enough to Captain Canada, then he should be good enough to Captain the Oilers. I'm not saying that this will happen, but I think it would be great if it did!