Canucks Name Luongo Team Captain

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday that have named goaltender Roberto Luongo as the team captain. Willie Mitchell, Mattias Ohlund, and Ryan Kesler were named the alternate captains on Tuesday as well. League rules state that a goaltender can be named team captain, but is not allowed to wear the "C" on his jersey. Mitchell will be the player designated to deal with the officials on a nightly basis, while Ohlund will deal with ceremonial aspects of the game, such as faceoffs. According to tsn.ca, only six goaltenders have served as team captains in NHL history, with Bill Durnan of the Montreal Canadiens being the last to do so during the 1947-48 season. The NHL passed a rule during the 1948-49 season that prohibited goaltenders from being able to act as team captains after Durnan repeatedly came out of his crease to argue with officials. Naming Luongo as team captain is a highly unusual move by the Canucks, as he cannot deal with the officials during a game. If Mitchell is going to be dealing with the officials in every game, then it would have made more sense to name him the team captain.