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  • ESPN News Services

Sep 19, 2023, 04:00 PM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks will not have a captain this season.

General manager Kyle Davidson made the announcement Tuesday. Jonathan Toews captained the team for almost 15 years, but he played his last game with the team in April.

“The only plan right now is to sort of just let it breathe for a year,” Davidson said. “We came off such a successful tenure with Jonathan that, a little bit of it is just out of respect for Jonathan, to not fill that spot right away.

“And the other part is not to put that pressure on someone else when you’re coming out of a period of such — call it greatness, right? And you want the next person to be in a position to succeed. And there’s no requirement to have a captain, and so we just felt that it was best to leave that, push that decision a little bit.”

Davidson said Chicago will have a group of alternate captains. That group will be announced later in training camp, which begins this week.

The rebuilding Blackhawks are looking for progress after finishing last in the Central Division with a 26-49-7 record. Following the awful season, they won the NHL draft lottery and selected Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick.

Veteran defensemen Seth Jones and Connor Murphy are back, and forwards Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Corey Perry were added to the roster in the offseason.

As far as the future of the team’s captaincy, Davidson said the Blackhawks will “let the chips fall where they may.”

“Over the next year, we’ll see who emerges, see what the best option is and decide next year if it’s appropriate to name someone,” he said. “We’ll take that as it comes.”

All eyes are on Bedard as the Blackhawks head into training camp, but the play of Lukas Reichel also is worth watching. Reichel, who was selected by Chicago with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 draft, had seven goals and eight assists in 23 games last season.

The 21-year-old Reichel has played mostly left wing in the NHL, but Davidson said he will begin camp as a center.

“I’m sure there’ll be some growth areas for him down the middle,” Davidson said. “But we wouldn’t try it out if we didn’t think he’d be a success.”

This is the first season for the Blackhawks without a captain since 2007-08.

Toews, currently an unrestricted free agent, had 31 points in 53 games last season with the Blackhawks. He announced in a social media post last month that while he’s “not fully retiring” from the NHL, he will be “taking some time away from the game again this season.”

The Blackhawks moved on from other veterans in a rebuild over the past two seasons. Longtime Toews sidekick Patrick Kane was traded to the New York Rangers last season.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Who will make the 12-team College Football Playoff?

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27 mins ago

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August 22, 2025

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Who will make the 12-team College Football Playoff?

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2025 preseason College Football Playoff predictions

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27 mins ago

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August 22, 2025

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2025 preseason College Football Playoff predictions

It’s August and no games have been played, but that’s not keeping ESPN’s college football reporters from predicting the 12 schools that will make up the College Football Playoff beginning in December.

Ohio State won the inaugural 12-team bracket last season, despite starting as the No. 8 seed, demonstrating that the playoff truly gives new life to any team that gains entry.

There’s a slight alteration to the format this year. The tournament will still comprise the top five conference champions and seven at-large schools. But the top four seeds — and the first-round bye that comes with each of those seeds — will no longer go to the four highest-ranked conference champions (last season that was Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State). This season the committee has moved to a straight seeding model, so the four highest-ranked schools in the committee’s final top 12 will get the top four seeds.

Ahead of Week 0, here are the slates our reporters picked. Let the chase begin:

Andrea Adelson: 1. Clemson 2. Penn State 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Miami 9. Alabama 10. Iowa State 11. Nebraska 12. Boise State

Kyle Bonagura: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Ohio State 4. Clemson 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State

Bill Connelly: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. Texas 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Texas A&M 8. Clemson 9. Oregon 10. Boise State 11. Miami 12. Kansas State

Heather Dinich: 1. Penn State, 2. Clemson, 3. Texas 4. LSU 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Alabama 9. Miami 10. Oregon 11. Kansas State 12. Boise State

David Hale: 1. Ohio State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Georgia 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Texas A&M 10. Kansas State 11. Miami 12. Toledo

Eli Lederman: 1. Penn State 2. Texas 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Notre Dame 6. Alabama 7. Oregon 8. Georgia 9. Arizona State 10. LSU 11. Miami 12. Boise State

Max Olson: 1. Texas. 2. Penn State. 3. Notre Dame. 4. Clemson. 5. Alabama. 6. Oregon. 7. Georgia. 8. Ohio State. 9. Texas Tech. 10. LSU. 11. Utah. 12. Boise State

Adam Rittenberg: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Georgia 5. Alabama 6. Ohio State 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. Iowa State 11. Boise State 12. Illinois

Mark Schlabach: 1. Texas 2. Clemson 3. Penn State 4. Georgia 5. Ohio State 6. Alabama 7. Notre Dame 8. Oregon 9. Miami 10. LSU 11. Arizona State 12. Boise State

Jake Trotter: 1. Texas, 2. Clemson, 3. Penn State, 4. LSU, 5. Ohio State, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Georgia, 8. Oregon, 9. Illinois, 10. South Carolina, 11. Texas Tech, 12. Tulane

Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State, 2. Georgia, 3. Texas 4. Penn State 5. Notre Dame 6. Clemson 7. Oregon 8. LSU 9. Arizona State 10. Miami 11. South Carolina 12. Boise State

Dave Wilson: 1. Texas 2. Penn State 3. Clemson 4. Ohio State 5. Georgia 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Oregon 9. LSU 10. Arizona State 11. Miami 12. Boise State

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Tide RB Miller expected back for UGA showdown

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August 22, 2025

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Tide RB Miller expected back for UGA showdown

  • Chris LowAug 22, 2025, 12:11 PM ET

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    • College football reporter
    • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
    • Graduate of the University of Tennessee

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he expects starting running back Jam Miller to return in time for the SEC opener against Georgia on Sept. 27.

Miller dislocated his collarbone in the Tide’s scrimmage last Saturday and will miss the opener against Florida State on Aug. 30. He’s doubtful to play in the next two games against ULM and Wisconsin. Alabama has a bye the week before its visit to Georgia.

“He’s a leader for us, a quiet leader, but somebody the players all respect,” DeBoer told ESPN. “Having that bye week, I feel good that he will be back out there. He does so many things for us at that position.”

Miller, a senior, chiseled his body this offseason and added muscle. He was having his best preseason camp after leading Alabama with 668 rushing yards last season.

“He’s was a clear No. 1 for us with everything he did, from protection to getting the tough yards,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “I told Jam that the running back room needs him more than ever now.”

Grubb said Daniel Hill and Richard Young add the most experience in stepping in for Miller and that Dre Washington adds a little different tempo out of the backfield. The running back that has been “creeping up” the last week, according to Grubb, is redshirt freshman Kevin Riley. Grubb said Riley is undersized but is physical and fast.

“It’s going to be a little bit by committee until Jam gets back, and there’s going to be a proving ground — who can take care of the ball, who can advance the ball, take on the game plan and help us protect?” Grubb said. “I’m excited to see who’s going to come out here these next few days and take over.”

Alabama ranked sixth in the SEC last season in rushing, and quarterback Jalen Milroe was a central figure in the running game. With Ty Simpson taking over at quarterback, Grubb said this offense will be geared more toward the pass to help balance out things.

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