May 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; Toronto Maple Leafs new head coach Craig Berube speaks during an introductory media conference at Ford Performance Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Naming Auston Matthews captain shows that all John Tavares cares about is winning.
The Toronto Maple Leafs named Auston Matthews captain this week, ultimately stripping John Tavares of that title after a five-year tenure.
So what does this really mean about the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Is the team in turmoil? Is John Tavares getting traded tomorrow? As much as it’s fun to speculate that and look at all of the hypothetical trades that could happen, that’s probably a long-shot.
Instead, all this move shows is that Tavares is a team-player and only cares about winning. When you think of the Leafs, the first name you think about is Auston Matthews, then Mitch Marner, William Nylander and then maybe John Tavares. Based on that pedigree alone, Matthews is much deserving of this title and it was only a matter of time before it happened.
Matthews Named Captain of Leafs; Tavares Gives His Blessing
When Tavares was originally named captain five years ago, it was a celebration of his homecoming and sparked a new era of Maple Leafs hockey. We all dreamed about the idea of Tavares being the first player to lift the Stanley Cup and his desire to come home meant everything. However, now that dream has somewhat been a nightmare, Matthews is the most logical captain, as the future of Tavares is unknown.
Instead of waiting for Tavares to potentially walk away from the team as a UFA next season, the Leafs got ahead of this, with Tavares’ blessing. Matthews is a top-three player in the NHL right now and will be the favorite to win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the next decade. As a result, that on-ice display, mixed with his high likability makes him a deserving captain.
Since it’s his last year under contract, Tavares can now take a backseat and focus on hockey, instead of all the other things you need to do as a captain. At this time in his career, Matthews is ready to take on that leadership, on and off the ice, as Tavares was not only a captain with Toronto for five years, but for five years in New York as well.
As much of an honor it is to be a captain of an NHL franchise for 10 years, it’s also a burden. There are a lot of responsibilites we don’t see as fans that come from being a captain, and I assume Tavares was just tired. Instead of being the face of the media every night, Matthews has be that player and Tavares can hopefully have a bigger season, as a result.
Matthews probably should have been named captain five years ago, but a certain incident stopped it from happening, so it was just a matter of time before the fanbase forgot and he was given that honor. Not only do the fans know that he’s the leader, but more importantly, his teammates felt the same, so Matthews is incredibly deserving of this honor, but it was a fantastic effort by Tavares to allow it to happen, so kudos to him.
