Despite the patches the NFL added to its jerseys a few years back, it is an understatement to say that the very idea of the captaincy has a regard and status within the game of hockey unmatched anywhere else in sports.
That "C" on the jersey means more in the NHL than it does when worn by, say, Peyton Manning or Jason Varitek. It is an honor given grudgingly and accepted solemnly, with its own regal duties codified in the rule book and the distinct responsibility to lead.
Benching a captain as a healthy scratch, as the Carolina Hurricanes did with Rod Brind'Amour on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, is not merely a business decision. It is a matter of honor. It is always the absolute last resort.
The Hurricanes' dismal season has come to this. Brind'Amour, whose leadership was unquestioned and invaluable in leading the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, has been deemed surplus to requirements.
It was not long ago that the mere idea of taking on Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin without a healthy Brind'Amour would have been unfathomable. The trophies he won as the NHL's best defensive forward were deserved and probably overdue at that.
This is not a decision taken lightly. You can be sure it received approval, no doubt forlornly, from the highest levels of the organization.
The NHL's wink-wink protocol for reporting injuries makes it impossible to determine definitively if this is, in fact, the first time Brind'Amour has been a healthy scratch in his time with the Hurricanes, but suffice to say that is almost certainly the case.
Putting honor and shame aside, let's face facts. At 39, Brind'Amour hasn't been any better to this point of the season than he was to this point of last season, when injuries slowed him to a crawl and the two-time Selke Trophy winner found himself with the worst plus-minus in the league.
Sent home from a road trip in February to recharge physically and mentally, Brind'Amour rediscovered his game and finished strong, although even during that unexpected playoff run not all went smoothly. (He was demoted to the fourth line during the Boston Bruins series and had only four points in 18 games.)
Still, given a full, healthy summer and training camp to prepare, surely Brind'Amour would be the Brind'Amour of old this season, not merely the old Brind'Amour? Sadly, that hasn't been the case.
Brind'Amour again has the worst plus-minus in the entire NHL at minus-19. He is on pace for 23 points, which would be less than half of his worst full-season mark previously. By the numbers, Brind'Amour probably should have left the lineup long ago.
This isn't about the numbers, though, which is why the decision to bench Brind'Amour is so surprising. It has come to this, where 12 other forwards are deemed to give the Hurricanes a better chance to win than the captain who lifted the Stanley Cup less than four years ago.
Or perhaps this is a decision designed to prod Brind'Amour into retirement, or into willingly handing over the captaincy to Eric Staal, neither of which Brind'Amour would entertain during the offseason.
Even the cold, hard light of reason often isn't enough to bump a captain from the lineup in the NHL. Because that role is more than merely ceremonial, this decision is about more than merely hockey, and its ramifications will extend beyond Monday's game.
