Who is the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs?

After trading current Captain Dion Phaneuf, the Maple Leafs announced that they would not be assigning a "C" to anyone this season, but will be playing with alternates the rest of the campaign.

Lamoriello says #Leafs will have alternate captains the remainder of season. No Dion replacement.

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) February 9, 2016

The question we'll hear until the new one is named is now: Who will Captain the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Looking at the current roster (and no one else's) we have some options, but the decision will be hard.

We'll look at the players history with the Leafs, awards and honours they have received, to verify their pedigree, see if they've played leadership roles on other teams, and checked for any controversies they've been involved in. A good leader has a clean record after all*

*Clean record definition differs from the NHL's idea of one

First, let's review out candidates, and their numbers:
I count "First Season" as the first one they played 35+ games with the team, or the season they were traded here.

Tyler Bozak

Leafs History:
Tyler Bozak is the longest serving Toronto Maple Leaf. He's played more games wearing the blue and white than anyone else, including nearly double what Lupul has, and he became a Leaf the season after Bozak. He left Denver after his sophmore year to join the Maple Leafs, and split that first season with the Toronto Marlies. After 09/10 he played exclusively with the Leafs and last year saw a career high 49 points.

Awards and Honours:
Won BCHL Top Assists and Top Scorer awards in 06/07, WCHA all rookie team in 07/08 as well Denver won the WCHA Championship. in his final year at school he was named to the WCHA All-Academic team. in the NHL he placed 15th in Calder Cup voting in 2009, and in 2013 he placed 34th in Lady Byng voting, and 43rd in Selke voting.

Leadership credentials:
Never wore an A or a C in the BCHL or NCAA, he was given one this year with the Maple Leafs.

Controversies:
Has a bit of an issue with Halloween, and learning from his past.

Does he have a chance?
Probably not, he's having a good year but the Leafs have never pushed him to be a public leader, or the face of the team.

Joffrey Lupul

Leafs History:
Joined the Maple Leafs in a trade where the Leafs sent Francois Beauchimen to Anaheim in exchange for Lupul, Jake Gardiner, and a 4th round pick.

Awards and Honours:
Scored the most goals in the WHL in 2002, won silver at the World Jr's in 2002, was drafted 7th overall in 2002, and was 15th in Calder voting in 2004 while with the Mighty Ducks.

Leadership credentials:
Wore the A with the Cincinatti Mighty Ducks in the AHL, and has had one the past 4 seasons in Toronto.

Controversies:
Seems to rile up fans of opposing teams easily, but that's a plus as a Leaf. Biggest controversy was made up and pushed by TSN, but the real one is that he can't stay healthy.

Does he have a chance?
He's more media friendly, but his injury history works against him. Babcock putting him on the fourth line the night of his 800th game may be an indication of how they want to use him going forward, or perhaps they're working on another miracle deal. I don't see Lupul getting the C in his last moments as a Leaf.

Morgan Rielly

Leafs History:
Drafted 5th overall in 2012 by then-GM Brian Burke who told reporters he would have taken Rielly first overall if they had the #1 pick, over Nail Yakupov, Alex Galchenyuk, and Ryan Murray. Rielly spent one more year with the Moose Jaw Warriors, then made his NHL debut in the 2013-2014 season and never looked back. He had to top draft pick label of future captain from the get go, but perhaps that may come true this summer.

Awards and Honours:
Was named BC hockey player of the year in 2009. Was drafted 5th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2012.

Leadership credentials:
He wore an A for Moose Jaw in his final season there, and has played in pretty much every game he's been with the Leafs for, so he knows the room and expectations on the captain.

Controversies:
Pretty squeaky clean kid, but he did face some learning time with his comment about "not here to be a girl about it" when asked about playing though a tough time with the team last year.

Does he have a chance?
Probably in the future, but he's probably seen as a little too young right now.

Leo Komarov

Leafs History:
The Maple Leafs drafted him 180th overall in 2006, and Leo took his time coming over from Europe. He wasn't big on moving to play in the AHL, so after the 2013 season he went back to the KHL rather than sign a 2 way deal. He played 1 season in the KHL then returned last year with a 4 year deal.

Awards and Honours:
Lots of medals for his time playing for Finland internationally: 2006 WJC Bronze, 2011 World Championship Gold, 2014 Olympic Bronze, 2014 World Championship Silver. His KHL team won the championship in 2012, where he also took home the "award" for most penalized player.

Leadership credentials:
He's spent lots of time being a leader for Finland, he was captain of the 2006 WJC team, and had an A with them in 2012 and 2014. His KHL year in 2013/14 he had an A as well. This year the Maple Leafs gave him an A for the first time in N.America.

Controversies:
Last summer he was fined €35,600 for speeding in Finland, then tried to claim he had $0 income since it was the off season (Finnish fines are based on income). In the KHL he stirred up some controversy for wearing too much Leafs gear while playing for Dynao Moscow, the team even made a rule banning NHL merch from being worn. Of course here in Toronto, it's probably a pro-captaincy move.

Does he have a chance?
Probably the best of anyone, but with his slowing scoring rate this year, and his history of being a bottom sixer, I don't see it.

Jake Gardiner

Leafs History:
Gardiner came over in the Beachimen trade with Lupul, and at first was a borderline Leafs/Marlies guy, and finally broke through full time in the 13/14 season.

Awards and Honours:
He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2010 WJC, and a bronze medal in the 2015 World Championships. He was on the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2009, and the NHL All-Rookie team in 2012.

Leadership credentials:
Wore an A in his last year with Wisconsin in the WCHA, and that's about it. He's been around plenty of leaders in his time, and his two stints recently on Team USA has put him in high pressure situations, something the Leafs haven't really done with their lack of playoffs.

Controversies:
The worst seems to be his agent tweeting out #FreeJakeGardiner after Ron Wilson sat him instead of playing him. So, he's got a good record.

Does he have a chance?
Maybe, he's locked up on a nice contract, but the Leafs not giving him any leadership role publicly before give sme doubts.

Matt Hunwick

Leafs History:
Signed the with Leafs as a free agent in the summer of 2015.

Awards and Honours:
CCHA All-Rookie team in 2004, champion in 2004, and best defenseman in 2007. Gold Medal with Team USA in 2004 WJC and Bronze medal in 2013 World Championships. placed 14th in Calder voting in 2009 with the Bruins.

Leadership credentials:
Wore an A with U Michigan in 2005, and was named Captain in 2006. Was given an A as a first year Maple Leaf this year.

Controversies:
Nothing aside from player usage when I google "Matt Hunwick controversy".

Does he have a chance?
For being the newest member of the team, I think he does. He's the oldest one on this list, and Babcock seems like like him enough to give him an A right away. As a short term solution, next year is the last on his contract, yes, I can see him getting it. Though plans on trading UFA's away could stop this.

Nazem Kadri

Leafs History:
Drafted 7th overall in 2009 by the Maple Leafs, with Brian Burke telling Ottawa GM Bryan Murray that he was taking the player Ottawa wanted. Kadri was up and down with the Leafs/Marlies for four seasons before sticking in 2013/14. He's been the teams 2C for a few seasons, playing behind Tyler Bozak, but has bene givena chance this season to break out on the top line.

Awards and Honours:
Kadri won the OHL Championship in 2009 with the Kitchener Rangers, and was named to the final OHL All-Star Game in 2010. that year he also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the WJC. He was AHL player of the month in 2012, and a player of the week in 2013. He was 38th in Selke voting in 2013.

Leadership credentials:
Kadri wore an A with the London Knights in 2009/10, but thats it for public leadership.

Controversies:
Kadri was suspended by the team last year for repeatedly missing team meetings, which was followed up by another suspension for a hit on Oilers forward Matt Fraser. This year he was fined $5,000 for a throat slash gesture made during a game. Making Kadri Captain would be seen as controversial by certain mouth breathers, but their opinions don't matter.

Does he have a chance?
Right now, most likely not. Shanahan and company are clearing out players from the old regime, and despite his talent Kadri could fit that mold, especially after the past years worth of internal and external discipline.

James van Riemsdyk

Leafs History:
Acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers for Luke Schenn in the 2012 summer. We were then forced to wait until January to see him do this:

JVR was Philly's consolation prize for losing the Patrick Kane draft, too.

Up until this year JVR played almost all the games he could with the Maple Leafs, only missing 2 before this years IR stint.

Awards and Honours:
Has been winning medals for Team USA for as long as he could. U17 silver, and U18 gold in 2006, and U18 silver and U20 bronze in 2007. Was on the Hockey East all-Rookie team, and NHL rookie of the month in 2010. Collected the Most Assists award in the 2014 Olympics for Team USA as well. He placed 11th in Calder voting in 2010.

Leadership credentials:
Despite playing consistently with teams for years he's never been given the chance to be a leader.

Controversies:
Nothing off ice comes up within an easy google search.

Does he have a chance?
Maybe, as one of the top stars of the team it could be easy to give him the C, but could his history of never wearing a letter hold him back?

So, who gets it?

In my mind they go next season without a defined captain. After Mats Sundin left they went 2 years without a captain, before giving it to Phaneuf. They only did this one other time, in the 80's between Rick Vaive, and Rob Ramage. If there's no clear leader then, there's no point in handing out the C. However, if I were to pick, I'd say it will be Matt Hunwick as a stand in until one of the possible players like Rielly, Gardiner, or Kadri step up and prove themselves to management.

The C is a magnet for criticism, the media, and fans, and is a bulls-eye on your chest. Giving it to Matt Hunwick would allow the top talent on the team to operate without having to be the face of the franchise, for good or bad, and give them breathing room to improve.

Who is your choice for next Maple Leafs Captain?