Golden Knights to continue without captain for 2018-19 season

The Vegas Golden Knights will continue to play without a captain, general manager George McPhee confirmed Monday, according to The Athletic's Lisa Dillman.

Instead, the team will proceed as it did during its inaugural season with a number of alternate captains. Last year, Deryk Engelland, Jason Garrison, James Neal, David Perron, Luca Sbisa, and Reilly Smith were named alternate captains, with three serving as home alternates and three on the road.

The Golden Knights will have to either dress fewer alternates or redistribute letters to other players, as the club saw Garrison, Neal, Perron, and Sbisa all depart this offseason.

As for the newly acquired Max Pacioretty, McPhee made it clear he would not be named captain despite donning the "C" for the Montreal Canadiens the past three seasons.

"Max can come here and just play hockey now," McPhee said, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika. "Doesn't have to be a captain. Won't be the captain. We have 23 captains."