But the Toronto Maple Leafs are a hockey team, not a boat or a ship. Ships and boats need captains. Hockey teams don’t.
I mean, I suppose they help, and they are expected. But if a team doesn’t have a captain, someone assumes the role unofficially and everyone goes on about their business. It’s not too big of a deal.
The last time the Leafs had a captain, it was Dion Phaneuf. That guy was miscast in every role they stuck him in, but he did his best during one of the worst periods in franchise history.