Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is relinquishing his role at the helm of the team, passing the captaincy on to Auston Matthews from next season.
John Tavares Passes Maple Leafs Captaincy On
John Tavares has been captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs since the 2019/20 season, but ahead of the new campaign he has decided to pass the role on to another experienced teammate.
Auston Matthews has been with the Maple Leafs in the NHL since 2016 and since then he has only ever played in Toronto, making him an ideal captain heading into the new campaign.
Tavares announced the team’s decision at a press conference on Wednesday night, where he seemed happy to pass the captaincy on to one of Toronto’s biggest superstars.
“Before my second season in Toronto, I was given the incredible honour and responsibility of being the next captain and follow in the footsteps of 24 Leafs greats,” Tavares said.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) August 14, 2024
“I’ve cherished every second of it, never taken it for granted, and have given the captaincy everything I have every single day It has meant the world to my family and I.
“Over the last few months, through deep discussions and thoughts with Brad [Treliving], Brendan [Shanahan] and myself, we have come to the decision that now is the time to pass the captaincy to Auston.”
Matthews will become only the second non-Canadian captain of the Maple Leafs out of 26 captains and he said he was ‘shaking’ when the decision was revealed to him.
The first ever American Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 🍁 pic.twitter.com/WQ8jFeY63l
— theScore (@theScore) August 14, 2024
“I was shaking, I had chills,” Matthews said.
“It’s such a big honour to represent the Maple Leafs and put on that jersey every night. To be the captain is truly special. For him to call me and kind of (pass on) the captaincy, it was very emotional. Felt a lot of things. It’s truly an honour.”
Matthews has played 562 games in his Maple Leafs career, scoring 368 goals in what has been an excellent career so far after eight seasons in Toronto.
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