Toronto Maple Leafs officially name Auston Matthews captain, replacing John Tavares

Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to name Auston Matthews captain on Wednesday. This is part of the evolution of Matthews as a leader and current Maple Leafs captain John Tavares fully supports the change. Tavares has been heavily involved in the process with GM Brad Treliving.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) August 12, 2024

Chris Johnston of The Athletic mentioned on X that discussions about the change began shortly after the Maple Leafs were knocked out by the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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.

Matthews is coming off the best season of his career, and one of the best goal-scoring performances in three decades. The California-born, Arizona-raised Matthews scored 69 goals and 38 assists for 107 points in 81 games, equalling Mario Lemieux in 1996 for the most goals scored in a single season since 1992-93, the last time a player hit the 70-goal mark in a single season. He is also ready to receive his big pay bump, as his four-year, $13.25 million AAV contract extension that he signed in August 2023 will kick in this season.

In 582 NHL games, the former ZSC Lion has notched 368 goals and 281 assists for 649 points. He has also posted 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points in 55 career postseason appearances.