Coach Mick Malthouse insists all five members of the club's leadership group are in the running for the role, but there have been suggestions that it's a three-way contest between Andrew Carrazzo, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson.
First-year leadership group member Nick Duigan and the injured Jarrad Waite are not expected to succeed Chris Judd, who relinquished the job to focus on playing.
AFL.com.au canvassed the issue with four former Carlton captains – Anthony Koutoufides (who led the club from 2004-06), Craig Bradley (1998-2001), Mark Maclure (1986) and Robert Walls (1974 and 1977-78).
Bradley, who was also on the Blues' coaching panel from 2007-10, summed up the feelings of most.
"Any one of them could do it," he said.
"Unless you’re actually there and you know all the ins and outs of it, you can’t really favour one over another, but from my experience with them I know they’re all fantastic guys and it'll be a good decision whichever way they decide to go."
Walls doesn’t believe there should be a debate in the first place, as he is of the strong view that Judd should still lead the side because "he's been a very good leader for a period of time and he'd be the most respected player there by a street".
However, the 1987 premiership coach believes Judd's replacement will be Carrazzo, 29, or Murphy, 25, and would be comfortable either way.
"Murphy will eventually captain Carlton, whether it's now or in two years' time," he said.
"Carrazzo could very well be captain for that period because he's very well respected and he's made himself into a really good player.
"That would give Murphy two years to become one of the very best players in the competition and to take on a few extra leadership responsibilities to prepare him for the captaincy, and basically become the finished article.
"But Murphy could take on the captaincy now and be fine. And he could have the job for five or six years like Judd did."
Koutoufides agrees that it all depends on whether Malthouse favours a more experienced, shorter term skipper like Carrazzo or Simpson or a potential long-term leader in Murphy.
"It's such a tough decision because they're three different types: Carrazzo is probably the spirit of the group, Simpson has great courage, and Murphy has freakish ability and is probably on par with Judd as Carlton's best player," he said.
"I'd like to see Murphy be a long-term captain, but Carrazzo might be a little bit ahead at this stage. They all give everything but if you want someone who's tough and hard, you can’t go past Carrazzo."
Maclure doesn’t have a preferred option but instead offered an insightful history lesson into Malthouse's thinking.
"If you have a think about Mick Malthouse and the captains he's had over the years, it might provide a clue," he said.
"When he went to Collingwood, (Nathan) Buckley was already captain – he was the one Malthouse probably didn’t want because he wasn't his style. After Buckley came (Scott) Burns and (Nick) Maxwell.
"Before that at West Coast he went for John Worsfold, a half-back flanker.
"Before that at Footscray he had Jimmy Edmond, Rick Kennedy was the long-term one and then there was Steve Wallis for a year.
"Malthouse picks blokes to lead who aren’t actually great players; they are team players who do all the hard things, like he was as a player himself. I think that's the way to go.
"If you read the play, he'll probably do the same thing this time. It'll be interesting if he moves outside that leadership model, but I don't think that'll happen."
Regardless, Walls said the presence of Judd, along with the assistance of other team leaders, would help the new skipper settle into the role.
"It's a bit like Joel Selwood at Geelong – he was a young captain (23) when he was appointed last year but he would have been delighted having the Enrights and Coreys and Chapmans and Bartels around him," he said. "As a leader you want good players and good people around you, and I think whoever becomes Carlton captain will have that."
The Blues have rotated the captaincy during the NAB Cup, with Murphy and Duigan alternating in round one against Greater Western Sydney and the Sydney Swans respectively, Simpson performing the role in the round two win over Fremantle and Carrazzo having his chance against Adelaide on Friday night.
Perhaps significantly, Murphy had the advantage of a virtual audition for the role late last season when he captained the side during Judd's four-match suspension.
