Devils name Langenbrunner captain

Dec 6, 2007 - 1:52 AM NEWARK, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils waited a while for Jamie Langenbrunner to take the ice this season. They wasted little time giving him some responsibility.

Langenbrunner, who missed the first 17 games of the season due to injury, was named team captain of the Devils on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Langenbrunner becomes the eighth captain in team history. Patrik Elias held the post last season, but coach Brent Sutter had not named a new captain until just prior to New Jersey's game against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

A native of Minnesota who was a second-round pick of Dallas in 1993, Langenbrunner had been sidelined due to offseason hernia surgery before making his season debut November 14, when he scored a pair of goals in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. He also has nine assists in nine contests this campaign.

Acquired from Dallas in March 2002, Langenbrunner has collected 169 tallies and 277 assists in 748 career games with the Stars and Devils.