The Toronto Maple Leafs still haven't made a call on who will be captaining their team next season, and that may very well be because they don't intend to make that call at all for the 2016-2017 season, perhaps waiting instead to name someone like an Auston Matthews to the role down the line.
However should the Leafs choose to go in that direction this season, they may have a man who thinks himself fit for the job, former Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich. Laich appeared to hint at the fact that he was ready, perhaps has been ready since he was a very young man, in a recent interview.
“I was one of those kids, a Leafs fan growing up who wrote school papers on being captain,” Laich said as per the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornby. “But I think all that will sort itself out. I haven’t had any discussion like that, I’ve not been approached.”
[pub]
It's not just the desire either, Laich seems to understand what being a captain is all about, and at this stage of his National Hockey League career one has to imagine that he has at the very least accrued the experience necessary to take on the role.
“I’ve always believed that well-done is better than well-said,” Laich said of getting the most out of these Leafs. “Just because you don’t have a letter doesn’t mean you aren’t a leader. The game today is done by a core, not by individuals, so people will follow actions more than words.”
It remains to be seen if the organization feels the same.
