John Tavares will hand the captaincy up to Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs.
There will be a significant captaincy change for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sportsnet can reveal that veteran John Tavares will be replaced in the position by star forward Auston Matthews.
In the history of the team, the 26-year-old will be the 26th captain of the Maple Leafs. This is only the second time the team has had a non-Canadian captain, the other being Swede Mats Sundin, and it is the first time the squad has ever had an American captain.Tavares, 33, who was named captain in October 2019, gives way to Matthews. After signing with the organization as a free agent in the summer of 2018, Tavares assumed the position a little over a year later. The native of Mississauga will soon begin the last year of his seven-year, $77 million contract.
Matthews, meanwhile, is set to begin the first season of a five-year, $53 million contract.For Matthews, the previous season represented a number of career highs, including games played (81), goals (69), and points (107). In 2023–24, he was the NHL’s top goal scorer and took home his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. He also received the Ted Lindsay Award, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Calder Memorial Trophy.
After being chosen first overall by Toronto in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews has spent the last eight seasons with the organization and has earned five All-Star selections.The Maple Leafs are hoping that the new leadership would give them a boost as they have been unsuccessful in the playoffs for a number of years, including this past season when they were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the first round.
With the exception of Matthews’ rookie campaign (2016–17), the Maple Leafs have made it to the postseason each year. They have only made it to the second round once throughout that time, though, and have not progressed farther.Since 1967, the team has not taken home a Stanley Cup.
The team said on Monday that a press conference will be held at 11 a.m. ET, and the official announcement is anticipated on Wednesday.
