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| Image blatantly taken from oilers.nhl.com who blatantly took it from Eakin's twtter |
I was ecstatic hearing the news of it, as I have have a tremendous amount of respect for Ference and all that he does for the communities wherever he is playing.
For more on my opinion as to why he was a great choice, and my reactions to people's reactions, read after the jump. You know you want to.
A shortened version of why I think Ference was the obvious choice for captain:
- Ference has a strong personality that will benefit everyone playing around him and what serves as the basis for the leadership role that he exhibits.
- Andrew is a warrior and someone who will always stand up for his teammates if he feels that they have been disrespected in any way. He is the guy that you would always want on your side.
- Ference is a winner. He has many games worth of post-season experience, and a Stanley Cup Ring to his name, and that is something that can never be overlooked.
- The amount of respect that people - players, coaches, etc - have for Ference is outstanding. A prime example of this is reading the comments that his former teammates and coach from the Bruins had to say congratulating Andrew on his newest role in the league.
- Not trying to take away any respect of him being the captain now, but Ference will serve as a good bridge for the next Oilers captain. He is perfectly capable of being a strong, capable and wonderful leaders, but Ference has a four year contract with the Oilers, and considering that he is alread 34 years old, Edmonton may very well be the place that he finishes his career. So if you look four years down the line, that's four years that Andrew has to develop his role as a captain and to mentor whoever will be the next Oilers captain.
- Andrew Ference is also a hometown boy, which translates to a lot of respect from the fans in Edmonton, and also is what keeps him tied to serving the community in Edmonton like he does.
- Basically, Ference knows what it takes to win, knows what it takes to be a consistently good player, knows how to defend your team, knows how to create team and community dynamic, and most importantly knows how lead both on and off the ice.
After reading so many comments from Oilers fans on various social media sites, and laughing at the reactions of some of them, I wanted to share my opinion on some of them.
Ference is a new acquisition, shouldn't it be someone who has been an Oiler for longer? Yes, Ference may be a totally new acquisition with the Oilers, but his previous captain in Boston, Big Zdeno Chara, was named captain as soon as he became a Bruin. And now, isn't Z thought of as one of the best captains in the league? So really, Ference being new is not a valid argument in any sense. And really, beyond that, what does it matter whether he is new or not? He already has generated a lot of respect from his teammates and the fans in Edmonton, and isn't that what a good leader needs - respect not years?
Hall should be captain.
No, Hall shouldn't be captain. Hall is too young still. He's 21 with three years of NHL experience, none of which have included the post-season. Yes, you can't fault Hall for lacking playoff experience, but having experience that extends beyond April is a key part to understanding what it actually takes to make it in the league. Hall is still lacking that. Hall also is much less involved in the community right now, and ideally team captains should help the community and the city out as well, not just lead the team. This may not be the case in all 30 teams, but ideally it is, and Hall doesn't fit that criteria right now. Hall has made quite the impression off the ice though, and not in a good way. The stigma that he has attached to his name amongst people close in age to him is not one that you would want tied to your team leader in any way.
What about Gagner? He should be captain. He should be captain before Hall.
Yes and no. I would name Gagner captain over Hall any day based solely on maturity, but I feel there are two major issues holding Sam back from being named captain. Looking short term, Gagner is out indefinitely with a broken jaw, with the estimated timeline being a couple months - is that really the way that any one wants to start their captaincy? Looking long term, I don't see Gagner as being a franchise player in any way. He has been the subject of many trade rumors in the past, and I don't see him being in Edmonton for a substantial length of time at this point, and if you are going to name one of your young guys captain, you want him around for a bit, ideally.
Eberle?
No. For basically the same reasons as Hall.
Nuge?
No. For basically the same reasons as Hall and Eberle, with the addition of injuries added to his list. Tough to be a captain from the pressbox. And he really is way too young.
Yakupov?
No, no, no, no. See reasons as Hall and Eberle, plus Yak has a huge ego. He would have a tough time garnering too much respect from some of the older, more veteran guys in the locker room.
Shouldn't Hemsky be named captain?
No. All these Oiler fans really need to let go of their undying love for Hemsky. It was said that Hemsky and Horcoff were going to be traded this past off-season and as we know only one of those trades happened. Would you really like your captain to the guy that the GM called out and said that they were going to trade him? Do you not think that there are going to be some hurt feelings there that will likely translate into less than perfect game play? Also, Hemsky tends to be the last one on the ice, first one off. He's not a team player, in fact he's downright selfish sometimes. That is not what a captain should be.
RYAN SMYTH! He was Captain Canada, so why not be the Oilers' captain?
Smyth has a ton of respect from players, fans, and everyone league wide. He's a guy that's tough to hate. However, Smyth is nearing the end of his career and his play is feeling it. Other than the fact that he's Ryan Smyth, I would honestly say that he was damn close to not even making the Oilers this year. Smyth is a wonderful leader, but definitely much more suited to a behind the scenes leadership role. He doesn't need to wear a C on his sweater to show his leadership. Everyone loves Smytty, and this will not change that, nor will it phase him.
Aren't some of the young guys going to be upset that they weren't named captain?
Maybe, but if they are, is that really a characteristic that you want in a captain? Yeah, that's what I thought.
But Ference played with the Flames!
Who cares? He also was a Penguin and a Bruin. Players switch teams, it happens. You can't discriminate based on where they have played in the past, even if it is a rivalry.
The Oilers historically have had a rough go with hometown boys not playing the way they did elsewhere, though.
Don't write off Ference until you see how he plays. Also, Ference is a lot stronger than let's say Lupul when it comes to pressure from the team and fanbase.
Why did Eakins announce the captaincy over twitter at 8 on a Sunday?
Eakins is extremely in tune with social media, and knows how to use it properly to garner support and target the next set of fans. He knows what he's doing.
When Ference was a Bruin, he flipped off the Montreal fans during a playoff game. What kind of leadership does that show?
It shows that he has balls. He's not scared of anyone or anything. I wish that Ference would have owned up to it a little bit more at the time, instead of the lame excuse he insisted on giving, but now he has made a couple jokes and comments about it, and that shows that he hasn't let it get to him at all. The guy has guts, he isn't afraid to be who he is, or of what anyone is going to say or do about it.
So with that, if you honestly think that Hall or Eberle or Gagner should have been named captain this year, give your head a serious shake and re-evaluate all that you think about hockey. Ference was the logical choice.
And to all you haters out there...
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| Seriously, how can you hate a guy who does this? |
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