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Andrew Ference Named Captain Of The Edmonton Oilers

Newly-acquired defenseman becomes 17th Captain in team history

By Derek Zona
Mike Stobe

The Oilers Twitter account announced the news this morning with a photo:

Ference becomes the 17th Captain in Oilers' history, the 6th time a defenseman has been named to the spot:

Al Hamilton: 1972–76
Glen Sather: 1976–77
Paul Shmyr: 1977–79
Ron Chipperfield: 1979–80
Blair MacDonald: 1980–81
Lee Fogolin: 1981–83
Wayne Gretzky: 1983–88
Mark Messier: 1988–91
Kevin Lowe: 1991–92
Craig MacTavish: 1992–94
Shayne Corson: 1995
Kelly Buchberger: 1995–99
Doug Weight: 1999–2001
Jason Smith: 2001–07
Ethan Moreau: 2007–10
Shawn Horcoff: 2010–13
Andrew Ference: 2013

Ference is regarded as a hard-worker and a stand-up guy, and is a renown gym rat, known for his intense workouts, which is very likely a large reason behind Eakins' decision.

Ference signed a 4-year, $13 million contract on July 1st, and is expected to bring stability to a defensive group that has ranked as one of the worst in the league for the last two seasons.