The Blackhawks made the right call with the captaincy

Rebuilding involves a lot of elements in the NHL. Teams, like the Chicago Blackhawks, have to draft well, be smart with their assets, work to develop young talent, set up a good salary cap situation signing the right players and have a good coach in place to help get the most out of the team.

Another element of rebuilding revolves around leadership, and the Chicago Blackhawks made the right call in that department when they named Nick Foligno captain ahead of last season.

Foligno was drafted 28th overall in the 2006 NHL Draft by the Ottawa Senators. Over the course of his 18 year NHL career, Foligno has played in 1233 NHL games for four different teams. He has captained the Columbus Blue Jackets and won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership award both in 2017.

The Blackhawks' captain has never been the best player on any of his teams, but he has been one of the best leaders, especially with a young group in Chicago.

Throughout yet another losing season for the Blackhawks, Foligno remained a vocal leader in the locker room. Fans watched last season as Taylor Hall and Seth Jones both wanted out, but Foligno seems not only willing to be here, but he seems excited.

Nick Foligno is making an impact on the future core of the Chicago Blackhawks.

In a season that saw a coaching change and a major trade of a star defenseman, the young players on the Blackhawks went through a great deal off the ice — on top of a lot of losses. Going through all that could have harmed the young star players development, and it could have led to a lack of confidence to end the season.

That wasn't the case. During the month of April the Blackhawks were 4-2-2, playing their best hockey of the season. One quote from Foligno in March after the trade deadline sums up how much he represented and understood the team.

“There’s a cohesiveness with the group," he said. "We’ve gotten rid of some distractions, so to speak, and now there’s a group that’s trying to get better… Guys are playing together, they're playing for one another, they're playing to grow something here and not worried about what's gone on or what guys are feeling. Everyone here is pulling on the same rope. We know we've got to pull ourselves out of this, and it's a credit to all the guys that — after a lot of distractions and the deadline — we're seeing a group that has come together here. It's encouraging."

""Guys are playing together, they're playing for one another, they're playing to grow something here.""

Nick Foligno last March

Foligno might not be the best player on the Blackhawks and he might have played a more diminished role on the ice last season, but without a doubt the organization and next era of the team will be better off because he was here.