Sabres name Rivet captain

by James Mirtle on Oct 8, 2008 1:48 PM CDT Comment 6 comments

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced today that defenseman Craig Rivet has been named the 23rd team captain in franchise history. Rivet becomes Buffalo’s first full-time captain since Stu Barnes from 2001-03.

Ruff also named four alternate captains: Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek, Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville.
>> team release

A bit of a surprise. Buffalo fans I talked to the past few days were all but certain Pominville would be the next captain.

Rivet's an excellent choice, however, and I think his presence on the Sabres blueline is going to go a long way toward this team's return to the postseason. He's not a flashy player, but is a solid leader and will play the tough minutes on a team that needs a defensive stalwart to bailout some of the more offence-first forwards.

Atlanta will have a captaincy announcement of some sort tonight, but the Panthers are going without one — at least to start the year.
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And that's why they fans are fans. The players actually elected Rivet and Ruff ok'ed it.

by twoeightnine on Oct 8, 2008 2:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Just goes to show how dumb Howard Simon is. You should have heard him this morning when someone suggested Rivet as captain.

by Anonymous on Oct 8, 2008 2:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

289 I agree with you but as a fan, it would make sense that Pommer got the C as he wore it briefly last year, signed a long term contract and is definitely one of the top forwards on the team. Rivet was someone who didn't like going to Buffalo at the outset and was only there for training camp.

In any event, I am GLAD that there is no rotating captaincy this year. That was a bad, bad idea.

by BlackCapricorn on Oct 8, 2008 2:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with that, and we've heard some former players that played under that system offer similar sentiments (Willie Mitchell, for one).

by James Mirtle on Oct 8, 2008 3:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

BlackC,

A lot of guys have worn the C in the past few years for Buffalo. You could have pointed at Hecht, Numminen, Lydman, Roy, Pominville, Gaustad, etc.

Rivet, after all is said and done, seems like the obvious choice. Personally, I never thought Poms should wear the C. Later perhaps, but he'll have to fight guys like Gaustad, Paille and Roy for it, I think.

Listen to Rivet's interview from yesterday and tell me that this guy isn't everything we asked for in a defenseman and isn't the best choice for captain.

Ta,

by Tom L on Oct 9, 2008 10:29 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I was one of the guys who thought Pominville was going to get the nod and while the Rivet announcement is surprising, it certainly qualifies as a pleasant surprise.

As Tom indicates, he looks to be the perfect choice for this particular group of players and I can't tell you how excited I am that the players actually made this choice themselves. For Rivet to come in and garner that much respect in such a short period of time just proves how solid an individual he must be.

by Matt on Oct 9, 2008 3:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs