Oilers’ Superstar Not Named Team Canada Captain

Team Canada announced their leadership group for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off and Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid was not given the biggest honor. Canada announced that Pittsburgh Penguins star veteran Sidney Crosby will be captain and McDavid will serve as an assistant captain.

McDavid has been the captain of the Oilers since the 2016-17 season, just his second year in the NHL. This is the first time McDavid and Crosby will share a uniform at any level and it’ll be the veteran who gets to don the “C.”

When the first six players were announced for each team involved in the 4 Nations Face-Off, there was real conversation to be had about who would lead Team Canada. In a roster full of skill, experience, and NHL captains, the talks usually boiled down to Crosby or McDavid.

The Oilers’ captain quickly noted that Crosby should be the one who leads Team Canada as captain, but a case could be made for McDavid to take the honor. He’s about a decade younger with much more international play ahead of him in his career.

Skill-wise, it’s safe to say that McDavid is the far better player in the year 2025. Only twice in his career has he recorded under 100 points in a single season and is well on his way to one day leading the Oilers to a Stanley Cup.

Crosby has been Canada’s captain on numerous occasions and led them to gold medals at every level. Handing the “C” to McDavid could almost be seen as a passing of the torch in Canadian hockey, but for now, it will remain with Crosby.

With a few more international tournaments coming up, a changing of the guard is sure to happen, but it’s still Crosby’s team, and country for now. McDavid might out-produce Crosby at the 4 Nations tournament, but they’re both playing for the same reason: to bring Canada another golden accomplishment.

Team Canada will be one of the most entertaining teams at the tournament. Crosby, McDavid, second assistant captain Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Brad Marchand just to name a few of the biggest stars on Canada’s roster.