O Captain! My Captain!

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

— Walt Whitman

Who will wear the “C” for the San Jose Sharks for the 2014-15 season?  Our “trip” for 2013-14 is “done”, but the “prize we sought” was not won by the Sharks.

Does the first stanza of the poem foretell the future of the captaincy (and the player)?

Will there be a captain this season for the Sharks?

The team has been emphasizing a change of leadership, to the “next” group of leaders (Couture, Pavelski, Vlasic, et al).

Marleau lost the C when it went to Jumbo, so I don’t see him having that much problem with others taking on the leadership.

Thornton arguable was his most productive, offensively, as a Shark before he had the “C.” I believe that he does have the humility to accept someone else wearing the “C”, regardless of the awkwardness.

There have been rumors that both Marleau and Thornton have been available in trade, but neither has waived their movement clauses to allow for it.  And neither player, nor the GM, seem willing to explain what conversations have taken place for their future with the “rebuilding” Sharks.

But there are three months until the start of the season, so arguing and posturing could  extend for that time and more.

It’s not getting resolved today.

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