Canadiens candidates give thoughts on captaincy

The Montreal Canadiens will have a captain this season, but in saying so Thursday coach Michel Therrien did not reveal who it would be.

The Canadiens used four alternate captains last season: defensemen Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban, and forwards Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec.

"I thought those guys last year did a fantastic job, they had good communication," Therrien told the Canadiens website. "I thought it went really well. But we believe this is the time for the organization to name a captain."

The Canadiens would not say if one of those four players will be named captain or if there might be another candidate.

Here's what each of the four alternates from last season told CBC at the Canadiens' annual charity golf tournament on Thursday:

Markov: "It's good for the team. It's good for everybody. … Good for the fans and it's an important decision and is going to probably come from the management, so we'll see what's going to happen."

Subban: "Whoever gets selected is going to have a bit of a responsibility, a little bit more than everybody else anyway. But we share that as a team. We share that responsibility as leaders to make sure that we're best preparing each other to play at a high level and to be where we want to be at the end of the year."

Pacioretty: "Last year prepared me a lot for this. I think if you have the 'C' on your sweater or not, you're expected to lead this team, and we expect everyone to lead the team, but like I said, I would be honored if that opportunity came."

Plekanec: "Whatever management decides is fine with me. … we are all comfortable with it."

Brian Gionta was the last Canadiens captain, during the 2013-14 season. The next captain will be named before the end of training camp.

"We said last year was a transition year regarding leadership," Therrien said. "We felt by the end of the year, when we all met, that we were ready to name a captain; this is something we want to do before the season."