Blackhawks won't have captain this season

The Chicago Blackhawks won't have anyone wearing the "C" in the upcoming campaign, general manager Kyle Davidson said Tuesday, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis.

The club will instead use three yet-to-be-named alternate captains to complete the leadership group, the GM added.

Jonathan Toews was the Blackhawks' captain for 14 seasons, but they chose not to re-sign him in April when he was on the verge of unrestricted free agency. Last month, the still unsigned 35-year-old said he's not retiring but will be taking time away from the game in 2023-24.

The Blackhawks also went without a captain during the abbreviated 2021 campaign, which Toews missed in its entirety due to chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID symptoms.

Chicago defenseman Seth Jones said last week he's always wanted to be a captain and that "it would be pretty special" to earn the opportunity with the Blackhawks. The 29-year-old cited his experience learning from veterans like Shea Weber, Blackhawks offseason acquisition Nick Foligno, and Toews himself.

However, it's fairly common for rebuilding teams to go without a captain. Chicago tied for the NHL's second-worst record last season and is expected to be among the league's bottom-feeders in 2023-24 despite landing uber-prospect Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft.