28. Despite a long-standing NHL rule stating that goaltenders cannot serve as team captains, the Vancouver Canucks named who as their captain just before the 2008-2009 season?
From Quiz O Captain! My Captain!
Answer:
Roberto Luongo
The rule, colloquially referred to as the "Durnan rule" was enacted before the 1948-49 NHL season. The rule's informal name refers to Bill Durnan, a goaltender who served as captain of the Montreal Canadiens for part of the 1947-48 season. The league decided that goalies should not be team captains because of multiple complaints that the time it took Durnan to go to and from his end of the rink to centre ice to speak with officials created unnecessary delays in the game, sometimes giving his team an unofficial and unsanctioned brief 'time out'.
The Vancouver Canucks, however, clarified that the rule means that goaltenders simply cannot serve as the on-ice captain during games; the honour can still be bestowed upon a goalie off-ice. So, when the Canucks needed a captain following Markus Naslund's departure, Roberto Luongo became the team's captain in September 2008 but never wore the captain's C on his jersey during a game. Alternate captain Willie Mitchell performed captain duties on-ice, primarily speaking to the officials. Luongo remained captain for two seasons, stepping down prior to the 2010-11 season following speculation that being captain in addition to being starting goaltender was too much pressure to take on.
Luongo was drafted fourth overall in 1997 by the New York Islanders; at the time, this made him the highest selected goaltender in NHL draft history. This distinction was broken by his replacement on the New York Islanders, Rick DiPietro, who the club drafted first overall in 2000. Luongo also played for the Florida Panthers before being traded to Vancouver before the start of the 2006-07 season. In 2010, Luongo replaced all-star goalie Martin Brodeur as the starting goaltender for Team Canada at the Olympics; Canada won gold that year.