I don't think Spezza should be captain either though. There is more to consider than simply working hard and sticking up for your teammates. Fans all love their teams goon, but if you go and give Neil the C (which again, will never happen) you're going to piss off a dozen other guys that have way more skill than Neil and in reality, probably work just as hard, it just doesn't show as much as an energy guy who hits everything in sight.
There's way more to it than picking who we think works hard and deserves it. There are contract
considerations among other things. This stuff actually will be brought up in contract negotiations between players/agents and the team.
I still see someone like Phillips taking the C until Karlsson is ready but he may be closer to being ready than I first thought. He's being groomed and he might be able to learn on the job like a Crosby. I'd be cool with that especially if Alfie comes back for another year.