The Arizona Coyotes have named their alternate captains for the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Forward Jay Beagle, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and forward Andrew Ladd will have the three As at the start of the season, head coach Andre Tourigny said on Thursday.
Tourigny said that is not a group cemented in for all year and complimented all three on their leadership shown in training camp.
Beagle, 35, was acquired as a part of the trade with the Vancouver Canucks centered around Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The 13-year NHL veteran has 471 games to his name with 51 goals and 65 assists. He had five points in 30 games last season for Vancouver.
The 23-year-old Chychrun is the lone player of the three who was on the roster last season. Chychrun is coming off a career year in which he had 18 goals and 23 assists, totaling 41 points over just 56 games.
Ladd, 35, has a $5.5 million cap hit that allowed the Coyotes to take that on in exchange for three draft picks from the New York Islanders. The forward is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning once in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes and again in 2010 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. Ladd has 505 points in his career but has only 11 in the last two seasons.
The matchup with the Blue Jackets is at 4 p.m. and you can hear it on ESPN 620 AM / 98.7 FM HD-2.