As the Columbus Blue Jackets season has started to slip away from them, the finger pointing has started and a lot of it has been pointed at their new captain, Nick Foligno. Foligno was traded to the Blue Jackets before the lockout shortened season from the Ottawa Senators and has found a nice spot in Columbus where he is able to contribute and do what is asked of him on the ice. So, why is he being criticized?
For starters, people want to assume that being a captain on a team gives you magical voodoo powers. I will let you in on a little secret – it doesn’t actually come with the aforementioned voodoo powers. Either you are a good player or a bad player, putting some stitching on your chest isn’t going to change that fact. Going to the middle of the ice for a photo op isn’t going to lead more goals on the ice. When Foligno is criticized for his “poor play” and the argument comes back to the captaincy, don’t believe a word of it. It isn’t weighing on him. If anything, it is percentages coming back down to the mean. His current shooting percentage is below four percent which is way below his average and the league’s average. That isn’t going to sustain. Don’t attach a boring platitude to something that can’t be comprehended without a little more reading.
If the Florida Panthers miss the playoffs this year, should Willie Mitchell bear the brunt of the criticism? He came from a proven winner in Los Angeles and has a proven pedigree, shouldn’t that translate into wins? Nothing is that simple. All of the outside noise should be ignored regarding a captain but what you shouldn’t ignore is the environment that these leaders go to. Mitchell is an average player who went to a bad team. It is crazy to expect him to reinvent the wheel due to his leadership qualities.
Similarly, Andrew Ladd was signed by the Atlanta Thrashers after the 09-10 season and was coming off a Stanley Cup winning season to boot, but many believed that due to the new championship ring he won he would immediately impact the entire team by just being present. While Ladd is a good player, he isn’t a franchise changing player. He has nice complimentary qualities and when it comes down to it, but he isn’t a messiah for the now Winnipeg Jets. It is important to think critically when criticizing someone and most of all it is important to back up a claim with facts. Ladd averages slightly over half a point per game for his career. He was never bound to be a world beater.
You can use buzzwords like heart, leadership and grit but those words aren’t worth more than the paper it is printed on. People will say that I have never been a part of a locker room, but I have and guess that the best players are going to perform no matter what and they don’t need a polyester blend “C” to validate their skill. Everyone goes through streaks even the best of the best, so don’t be lazy and attach your thoughts to a dumb narrative.
As the season goes on and fans of their respective teams want to point fingers at the captain of the given team they are cheering for “not playing the right way” or “lacking heart”, remember that your captain isn’t superhuman due to the lettering on his jersey and is just a player like everybody else. The Blue Jackets made it to the playoffs without a captain one year and if they miss this the playoffs this year it isn’t because Foligno is a bad captain, rather it is because the title is meaningless.
