Top 10 NHL Captains of All Time

Team captains may have different styles, temperaments and talents, but the great ones lead by example. Here's our all-time Top 10:

Bob Gainey, the second-longest tenured captain in Montreal's storied history, was hailed by Soviet national team coach Viktor Tikhonov as the world's best all-round player. Gainey's hardworking style of play inspired the creation of the Selke Trophy for the NHL's top defensive forward, and he was the wiinner for the first four years that it was awarded (1981-89). Supremely poised, Gainey led the Habs into the postseason each year that he wore the C, and although they faltered in the first round the first three years, he was a key to their winning the Stanley Cup (his fifth with Montreal) in 1986 and reaching the final in 1989, after a second straight 100-point season.