Stripped Of The 'C': A Look Back At NHL Captains Who Lost Their Letter

Being stripped of the captaincy is a rare occurrence in the NHL, and this season we saw the Detroit Red Wings take the 'C' off Dylan Larkin's chest. Today, we look at other examples of players losing their captaincy. Ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season, Dylan Larkin, former Detroit Red Wings captain, got his ‘C’ stripped before reporting to training camp.Larkin requested a trade over the summer after his team missed the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. While he remains on the team’s roster, Detroit removed the ‘C’ from his chest, and the team is now running without a captain this season.Following the removal of Larkin’s captaincy, let’s look back at some previous names who have lost the ‘C’ throughout NHL history.Dustin Brown, RW, Los Angeles KingsFrom 2008 to 2016, Dustin Brown captained the Los Angeles Kings. He led the team to their first two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014. After his eight-year run as captain, GM Dean Lombardi and coach Darryl Sutter removed Brown’s captaincy.Related storiesFollowing their Cup win in 2014, the Kings missed the playoffs the next year and exited in the first round in 2016. Brown’s stats began to decline, as he scored less than 30 points over those two seasons. With management hoping for a general change for the team, they revoked Brown’s captaincy and passed on the ‘C’ to Anze Kopitar.Eric Lindros, C, Philadelphia FlyersWith a dramatic controversy in 2000, the Philadelphia Flyers stripped Eric Lindros of his captaincy, and much commotion followed. Starting with a public critique, Lindros criticized the Flyers’ medical and training staff following their misdiagnosis of multiple concussions.After an open criticism from the team’s captain, Flyers GM Bobby Clarke found Lindros’ statements to be selfish and disloyal towards the team; he then removed the captain's ‘C,’ passing it on to Eric Desjardins.After the dramatic captaincy change, Lindros sat out the 2000-01 season and was later traded to the New York Rangers for the 2001-02 season.Joe Thornton, C, San Jose SharksJoe Thornton served as the San Jose Sharks captain for four seasons, from 2010 to 2014. Under his leadership, Thornton led the team to the Western Conference Finals in his first season as captain.The summer before the 2014-15 season, Thornton lost his captaincy as GM Doug Wilson and coach Todd McLellan wanted to reset the team for a fresh start after the Sharks lost to the Kings in the playoffs the previous year. They wanted to ease the pressure on Thornton and let younger players step into leadership roles; he served as an alternate captain in 2014-15. Following that year, Joe Pavelski was named captain after Thornton.Blake Wheeler, C, Winnipeg JetsMore recently, ahead of the 2022-23 season, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and coach Rick Bowness withdrew Blake Wheeler’s captaincy from the Winnipeg Jets. Wheeler lost the ‘C’ as management and coaching wanted the team to shift and expand its leadership roles.Wheeler was the Jets captain for six seasons, from 2016 to 2022. He helped establish the team's modern identity and ranked among the NHL's top offensive players. After losing his captaincy, Wheeler finished his contract with Winnipeg for another season, then moved to the New York Rangers. He later retired in 2025.There are many more notable instances of a captaincy loss, but these are just some moments in NHL history that closely mirror this season’s most recent withdrawal of the captaincy by the Red Wings from Larkin.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.