Auston Matthews will be named as the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday at a press conference, the team confirmed Monday.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report.
John Tavares, the incumbent captain is on board with the decision and has been involved with the selection alongside general manager Brad Treliving, Dreger reports.
There were internal discussions about replacing Tavares as the captain after the Maple Leafs lost in seven games during their first-round series against the Boston Bruins, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reports.
Matthews has been the Maple Leafs’ best player since his rookie season and is coming off a tour-de-force 69-goal campaign, where he recorded 107 points in 81 games during the 2023-24 campaign — the most goals in a single campaign since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. It’s a logical move to make Matthews the face of the franchise as the team’s best player, who is under contract through the 2027-28 season.
Tavares has served as Toronto’s captain since October 2019 and has taken pride as the team’s nominal leader since taking on the role. In many respects, Tavares’ homecoming served as a full-circle legacy moment for the Toronto-based superstar.
Matthews was selected first overall in 2016 by the Maple Leafs and has operated as a generational talent since joining the franchise. He was named the 2024 All-Star Game MVP on home ice and is on track to become the greatest player in franchise history. Matthews also was named as a Selke Trophy finalist in 2014, finishing in third place, cementing his reputation as a bonafide two-way superstar.
The 27-year-old has never publicly lobbed for the captaincy and it’ll be compelling to see how the decision to transition to Matthews from Tavares over the course of the summer came into place. Brendan Shanahan promised this would be a summer of change and apparently, that involves the captaincy too.
