The New York Rangers have been without a captain for several seasons, and they may not be rushing to change that soon.
"The thing I learned along the way is, don't pick a captain just to pick a captain," Rangers president John Davidson said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "I think it's something that has to weed itself out. As you go through different experiences, you feel and have an understanding of what players express certain ways of leading.
"Some players are very quiet yet lead on the ice like crazy. Some guys are very loud. Some guys don't speak very often but when they speak everybody listens. We're in the process of trying to figure that out."
The Rangers haven't named an official leader since shipping out former captain Ryan McDonagh at the trade deadline during the 2017-18 season. McDonagh served as the team's captain for four seasons, beginning in 2014.
Davidson adds that while he understands there's some pressure from the fan base to name a captain, management won't hurry the decision.
"Sometimes you don't want to give a person too much if (you're) not sure he can handle it because it becomes a detriment," Davidson said. "It's an important question, but that can't sway us into pushing us into something that we don't feel is right as far as the timing goes. That's not a slight on anybody, believe me, but we'll get to it and hopefully it'll work itself out."
Forwards Mika Zibanejad, Jesper Fast, and Chris Kreider, and defenseman Marc Staal have been serving as the team's alternate captains this season.
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