‘This is the moment’: Tavares of the Maple Leafs is ‘honored’ to hand over leadership to Matthews.

John Tavares, a teammate who has served as captain since the 2019–20 season, will hand the captaincy over to the Maple Leafs star. Only Mats Sundin and Matthews will be non-Canadian captains in the history of the team, making Matthews the 26th captain overall.

The torch was formally passed and Toronto’s brightest star was crowned at a packed news conference on Wednesday in Toronto, which was attended by the families of both players, teammates Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly, as well as former captains Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark.In his opening statement, Tavares stated, “Before my second season in Toronto, I was given the incredible honor and responsibility of being the next captain and following in the footsteps of 24 Leafs greats.” It has meant the world to my family and myself, therefore I have treasured every moment of it, never taken it for granted, and given the captaincy everything I have every single day.

“Brendan Shanahan, Brad Treliving, and I have been deliberating for the past few months, and we have decided that Auston should take over as captain at this point.”

Tavares’ three kids even wore jerseys with Auston Matthews’ No. 34 for the event, demonstrating the support from both the team and the players.The concept of transferring the captaincy was discussed during the season, according to general manager Brad Treliving, following the team’s loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. Tavares will wear a “A” as the backup captain, he continued.

“It was at that time John and I had a conversation and I first raised the thought I had about the succession of the captaincy to John,” Treliving recalled. “And I can confirm that John was on board from the beginning. He enjoys leading the Toronto Maple Leafs, as I can attest.” With so much young talent in the locker room, Tavares took the time to commend Matthews and acknowledge that he knew his time would soon come to an end. However, he also expressed his honor in passing the baton to the 26-year-old.

About stepping into Tavares’ position as leader, Matthews remarked, “I was shaking, I had chills.” “Being able to wear that jersey every night and represent the Maple Leafs is such an honor. Being the captain is an amazing role. It was really touching for him to call and sort of (pass on) the captaincy. had numerous sensations. It is a true honor.”After joining the organization via free agency in 2018, Tavares, 33, assumed captaincy a little over a year later. This event was captured on camera when he shared a picture of himself as a little boy curled up in Maple Leafs bedding. He is scheduled to begin the last year of a seven-year, $77-million contract ($11 million AAV), which was the second-largest contract by AAV in NHL history at the time of signing, only surpassed by Connor McDavid at $12.5 million AAV. He was raised in Oakville, Ontario, but was born in the nearby city of Mississauga, Ontario.

Matthews, who was selected first overall by the Maple Leafs in 2016, signed a four-year, $53-million contract less than a year ago, making him the highest-paid player in the league by AAV ($13.25 million).

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.With 29 goals and 36 assists in the regular season, Tavares’ final point total of 65 is the lowest it has been since his debut year in 2009–2010.

Toronto will be hoping that a squad that has had difficulty in the playoffs in recent years may benefit from the change in skipper.

The Maple Leafs have made it to the postseason each year since the 2017–18 campaign, however they have only gone one round past the first round—beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023. The Bruins eliminated them in seven games during the previous season.

Since 1967, the team has not taken home a Stanley Cup.