According to Josh Yohe from The Athletic , teammates
Jordan Staal, Brooks Orpik, Craig Adams and Matt Cooke were among the teammates that wanted a new captain.
"'Those four were exploring the possibility of naming someone else team captain until Crosby came back. On the other side of the debate were
Marc-Andre Fleury, Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Arron Asham. A rather heated discussion broke out. At the end, Malkin made his point clear: «Guys. Sid is the f****** captain.» Then he left the room. And the conversation was over.'"