5 Candidates To Be Next New Jersey Devils Captain

New Jersey Devils captain Andy Greene is getting older. It’s time to think about who could take his place once he’s gone.

We are going to make this very clear to start, this is and will never be an endorsement to strip Andy Greene of the New Jersey Devils captaincy. Greene has not been put in a position to succeed over the past three seasons. That’s causing him to have less than stellar nights on the ice. However, the mere fact he’s willing to put himself in those positions is why he is a good captain.

That being said, Greene is going to be 37 years old during the first month of the NHL season. Usually, the only defensemen to play past that age are the greatest of all time. There are three active defensemen older than Greene. They are Zdeno Chara, Niklas Kronwall, and Ron Hainsey. Only Chara is someone who is still capable of playing top-line minutes for a championship-level team.

We expect Greene to play this final season of his contract, then possibly skate off into the sunset. Even if he does return, it will be one a year-to-year basis. Greene has two young children that he’s always seen talking about or spending time with when he can.

Even if the Devils bring Greene back for a year, there’s a very limited time the Devils have with their current captain, and it’s time to scout some of the options for the future. There’s so many players on this team that could become a captain for a decade, or there are some short-term options. Either way, we need to find out who’s going to be the Devils 12th captain. These are the five most logical options.