Report: Zetterberg to be Named Red Wings’ Captain

According to MLive’s Ansar Khan, Henrik Zetterberg will be named captain of the Detroit Red Wings sometime before the start of the 2013 NHL season.

Zetterberg would replace Nicklas Lidstrom, who retired over the summer.

A report early into the now-ending NHL lockout stated that the team had been prepared to name the Swede as captain late in the summer but held off on the announcement due to the labor uncertainty.

Zetterberg was named an alternate captain in 2006 along with Kris Draper, at the same time as Lidstrom replaced longtime captain Steve Yzerman wearing the C. He has continued wearing the A since then, sharing it with Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall last season in a rotation.

It is unknown whether the team would add another alternate captain to continue that rotation. Around the time of Lidstrom’s retirement, Valtteri Filppula had been mentioned as taking on more of a leadership role with the team.