Montreal in Technicolor

I haven't blogged in quite some time, but since the season is high approaching I thought it was the time to put together a series of blogs about the 2010-2011 Canadiens de Montreal.
One of the most speculated on scenarios this off season that didn't revolve around netminders (OHMAHGAWD) is the captaincy. This is a franchise where wearing the venerated C on your breast wasn't just given away to anyone. This is a team that has been captained by some of the greatest hockey players in the history of hockey, let alone in Montreal. The next captain of the Montreal Canadiens takes the torch from Saku Koivu, who was beloved though maligned for a lack of french language ability. Before Captain K, oh, just a few nobodies from the likes of: Bob Gainey, Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Yvon Cournoyer, Henri Richard. See, maybe the captaincy is a little more important than it is for say, the Minnesota Wild who had a system of rotation previously? Personally, can you image a rotating captaincy where the K bros were able to pull on a sweater with the C on it? That's what I thought!
Since Gainey dismantled the team last season with the gracefulness of an elephant stampeding in your living room, there has been speculation on which of the newcomers would demonstrate their captaincy-like qualities on and off the ice. Gionta? Gorges? Cammalleri? Gill? Gomez?

My choice for the next captain: Josh Gorges.

Once upon a time, when Gorges was received in return for Craig Rivet, he was considered a marginal return, nothing special and he wrote the pine and pressbox for a while.
However, he has developed to an excellent defensive defenseman who is willing to dig deep and hit the trenches. He was a leader all season when it was quite difficult for the majority of the defense without the pillar named Andrei Markov. He took slapshots from Mike Green, made throwing himself in front of laser shots from the likes of Crosby, Semin, Ovechkin, Green and Gonchar an art. He was always available in the dressing room for an interview, tough loss or resounding win. He worked with charities, and made appearances at the draft table this summer with Habs management.

Pros: leader on the ice, Martin himself said that Gorges is a leader in the room, rarely misses a game, outspoken.
Cons: can't think of any really, other than we don't really know what goes on in and the room.

So that's my short but sweet case for Gorges as captain. Next post will be a look at the candidate for a breakthrough season!