Captain's Log

I've been away at the cabin for the past week, where my internet access is limited to spotty cell reception on my smartphone, so my Oilers news has mostly come in the form of occasional Twitter access and reading blogs well after the fact without the pictures loading properly (thank god I'm back in civilization so I can finally see what Cornelius Madigan looks like). There are a few thoughts rattling around my head about the goings on of the past week, so I will probably throw up a few posts over the next little while covering off some of the old news I missed. First up: Ethan Moreau.

 I don't have much to say about Ethan getting waived and then picked up by his old friend Scotty. It was definitely time for both sides to move on. Moreau was great in the community, and served the Oilers well for most of his reign as the team's 15th captain. But in the past couple years injuries hurt his game on the ice, and the organizational culture decayed around him. I'm not sure that that was his fault, but he definitely carries some of the responsibility. Hopefully Rifles can bounce back in Ohio.

What I'm more interested in, though, is who gets to call themselves the Oilers 16th captain. It's a big decision, and one that will leave a significant impact on the rebuild. Who, if anyone, on the current roster is worthy of joining the storied ranks of Hamilton, Sather, Gretzky, Messier, and *cough* Corson *cough*?

 If I were Tom Renney, I think that I would break camp without giving anyone the "C." The plan is to change the team's culture, and part of that will need to be a new leadership dynamic in the dressing room. It will take some time for that dynamic to shake out, and there's no point in rushing the process. Make Whitney a third Alternate and go from there. Maybe he steps up and proves he's ready to lead. Maybe in a year you consider giving the team to Hemsky as a way of getting him to sign an extension and motivating him to take that next step in his game. Or give it to Horcoff to make him feel better about the offense-killing shutdown role he is going to have to continue carrying. Or if one of the kids really steps up this year, maybe you go with  them as captain next summer. I'm just brainstorming here, but the point is there is no need to rush into anything.