The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced that Auston Matthews has been named captain of the club, starting with the 2024-25 season.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to break the news on Monday, with sources confirming the information to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. According to Dreger, Tavares had been heavily involved in the process of naming Matthews as the new on-ice leader of the Original Six franchise.
It is not as if Matthews is not one of the leaders in Toronto. The 26-year-old has been the face of the franchise seemingly since he was taken first overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, and has been slowly maturing into one of the biggest voices in the team’s locker room. Matthews has been part of the Leafs’ leadership group for the last few seasons, as he was named an alternate captain prior to the 2019-20 season, a role he has held ever since.
The choice to have Matthews wear the ‘C’ for the Leafs doesn’t come as a surprise to many. With his status as one of the game’s superstars, it seemed as if it was only going to be a matter of time before he was given the honor that has been given to legends like Mats Sundin, Darryl Sittler and Dave Keon. He will be the first captain in Craig Berube’s tenure as head coach of the Leafs.
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