The NHL is a league with many intricacies that are not shared by any of the other major North American sports including playoff beards and not touching the conference championship trophies. Another of these is the importance of the team captain.
In the NHL the “C” on the jersey does not mean you are the best or most well-liked player on the team, but you are the voice of the team on and off the ice. The Columbus Blue Jackets named Nick Foligno the team’s captain before the 2015-2016 season.
The Blue Jackets selecting Foligno was not a rushed move with him being named the first captain since Rick Nash‘s trade to the Rangers.