Austin Matthews is set to become the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, taking over the team’s top leadership role from teammate John Tavares, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision.
The Leafs have called a news conference for 11 a.m. Wednesday where they will officially announce the change. The leadership shakeup comes after senior members of the organization pledged to look at every possible avenue to change the team’s dynamic following a seven-game first-round loss to the Boston Bruins in May. The process involved extensive internal discussions with front office members ultimately concluding that it was time for a leadership change and that Matthews — already the team’s best player — was ready to take the next step in his development as a leader, according to sources.
Tavares was involved in those talks and is believed to have supported handing the job to Matthews. He will attend Wednesday’s news conference.
The announcement comes in the final stages of a preseason that has seen changes behind Toronto’s bench, with Craig Berube replacing the fired Sheldon Cave as head coach, and a renewed focus on the blue line with the signings of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in free agency.
But whether that’s enough to get a team that has won just one playoff series in eight years out of this difficult phase remains to be seen. The Leafs have kept a starting lineup of Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly.
Matthews will become the 26th captain in team history. He spent all eight of his NHL seasons with the Leafs after being named the 2016 MVP, and is now preparing for a new season in which he has scored 69 goals and 107 points, the best numbers of his career.
Tavares has spent the past five seasons as Toronto’s captain and is now entering the final year of his contract. He was given the honor on October 2, 2019, as part of an on-ice ceremony at Scotiabank Arena before the team’s season opener.
The only other two Leafs players to wear the “C” jersey in the past 27 years are Dion Vanioff and Mats Sundin.
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