Foligno named Blackhawks captain, replaces Toews

Nick Foligno was named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old forward replaces Jonathan Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks (2010, 2013, 2015) who held the title from 2008-23. He scored in his final game with Chicago, a 5-4 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at United Center on April 13, 2023; general manager Kyle Davidson announced that morning they would not re-sign the then-35-year-old.

"What a tremendous honor," Foligno told the Blackhawks website. "I'm humbled and so appreciative of the opportunity to help lead this group. I'm really humbled and appreciative of the Wirtz family's belief in me, right through management to coaching staff to the players, ultimately. And I'm beyond thrilled that I get to do it for this fan base, too.

"It makes me think about Jonathan Toews and how he handled [being named captain] at such a young age, coming into an historic franchise, an Original Six team, and the way he led this organization. Those are big, big shoes to fill, but I'm not going to try and do that because they'll never be filled. He is a pillar of this organization that we stand on because of the way he led, and he's given me a great guideline of how to build success here. Now I get to do with my own style with great guys in the room, and I'm really humbled and honored to do that.

"It's not just me. Now that I'm wearing a captain's ‘C' it really doesn't change anything in my eyes. I get to go lead with some great players in that room, and I'm excited about doing that starting tomorrow (at the first practice of training camp)."

Foligno was traded to the Blackhawks on June 26, 2023, signed a one-year, $4 million contract the next day and a two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 million average annual value) on Jan. 12. He was captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015 until he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a three-team deal involving the San Jose Sharks on April 11, 2021.

In Foligno's fourth season as captain, the Blue Jackets won a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time, a four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round. Foligno had three points (one goal, two assists) in 10 playoff games.

"To be honest, it was a little bit of a no-brainer for us," Davidson said. "I don't think anyone around the facility or around the team can really see anyone but Nick as the leader of this current Blackhawks team. Since day one, he stepped in and was the voice of the locker room and he's really taken on that role, even if he wasn't wearing the captain's ‘C' on his chest."

Foligno and defensemen Seth Jones and Connor Murphy were alternate captains last season and will continue in that role this season.

Foligno and Jones were Blue Jackets teammates for five seasons.

"He's the perfect man for the job for this team," Jones said. "I think he's a great leader, on and off the ice. He leads by example, but he's also a great communicator, whether it's a young guy or an older guy, whether we're playing well or they need to work on something. He's always there to kind of fill that gap, especially between coaches and players as well."

Foligno played his 1,000th NHL game March 15, 2022, a 2-1 overtime win by the Boston Bruins against the Blackhawks at United Center. He and his father, Mike Foligno, joined Bobby Hull and Brett Hull as the only father-and-son duos to each have played 1,000 regular-season NHL games. His 500th NHL point was an assist on Pavel Zacha's goal at 4:03 of the first period in a 6-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes at TD Garden on Oct. 15, 2022.

He was named winner of the 2017 Mark Messier Leadership Award, given to the player who leads by example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes, and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

"It's: ‘What can I do now to help build this next foundation?' How strong can we make this foundation so that when players do move on, there's still so much there to stand on and build on top of? I think that's what I'm excited about," Foligno said. "In Columbus, I was building it to help and be part of that for as long as I could and win Cups. Now, that's still the goal, but how can I put this team in a position to have the next layers of leaders come in and really push and have things set in a great way going forward?

"It's a huge honor, and something I don't take lightly. I was so excited to get to work before, and even more so now. I'm really looking forward to getting going to war with these guys."

There are four teams in the NHL without a captain: the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Seattle Kraken and Utah Hockey Club. The Lightning named Victor Hedman captain Wednesday.