McLellan: Oilers ‘will have a captain’ on opening night

Jordan Eberle downplayed the notion of him wearing the 'C' for the Edmonton Oilers next year, but feels that if not now, but in the future, that Connor McDavid will be the team's leader if not the NHL's.

The Edmonton Oilers will have a captain on their opening night roster, according to head coach Todd McLellan.

The veteran coach said as much to the media Wednesday at the Mark Spector Golf Classic.

“Will we have a captain? Yeah, we will,” he said.

Edmonton went without a captain for the 2015-16 season, with several players wearing the ‘A’ at different times including Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Hendricks and Andrew Ference.

Spector wrote about the likelihood of Connor McDavid being named captain in April when GM Peter Chiarelli told the media that “I would think so, that we would have a captain next year.”

“[McDavid] was the leader on the ice by the end of the season,” said Hall at the time.

“Connor is just one of those guys who leads by example and that’s a guy you can follow,” said Oilers goalie Cam Talbot in April.

McDavid played just 45 games in his rookie season last year, scoring 16 goals and 48 points.

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