Brian Gionta was named the 28th captain of the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, according to the team's official website.
Gionta is the second American captain in the team's 101-year history, following Chris Chelios's role as co-captain with Guy Carbonneau for the 1989-90 season.
Montreal did not have a captain last season when it went on a surprising run to the Eastern Conference final.
Saku Koivu was the last player to hold the honour, serving as captain from 1999-2009.
There were reports last week that Gionta, 31, would be getting the 'C' affixed to his jersey.
"It would be an honour," Gionta said. "I don't think it's any added pressure. You just go out and play. I'm just a quiet guy. I just go about my business. I do things by example, I guess. I'm not the rah-rah guy. I just try to work hard and compete for my teammates."
The 31-year-old Rochester, N.Y., native joined the Canadiens in July 2009 on a five-year, $25-million US deal and netted 28 goals and 46 points in 61 games — good for fourth in team scoring.
Hal Gill and Andrei Markov will continue to serve as the team's assistant captains.
*http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/09/29/sp-gionta-captaincy.html
Wondering how well Price will hold up this year.
ReplyDeleteShould be interesting.