Auston Matthews Named Maple Leafs Captain; 26th Player to Earn Honor in Team History

Auston Matthews has been named the 26th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He is the first American-born player to captain the 107-year-old franchise.

Matthews will replace John Tavares, who took over the role in October 2019. The position had previously been vacant for more than three years.

In the eight seasons since the Leafs selected him with the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft, Matthews has established himself as arguably the top even-strength goal scorer in the league. He won his third Rocket Richard Trophy by racking up a career-high 69 goals last season.

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Matthews, who was born in California and grew up in Arizona, said during the press conference announcing his captaincy that he hoped to finish out his NHL career in Toronto.

"I think that's the goal, is to be a Leaf for life, to win here with my teammates for this city," Matthews said. "I think those are always things that you kind of keep in the back of your mind, but they're also things that are kind of in the future as well.

"I've loved every minute of being a Toronto Maple Leaf. Like I said, it's such a tremendous honor, and you kind of take it one day at a time, but I hope that's the case."

Matthews, who turns 27 in September, is currently under team control through the 2027-28 season. Keeping him in Toronto will be key to the Leafs' hopes of building a Stanley Cup contender.

Tavares' future with the Leafs is less clear. The veteran center is currently set to become an unrestricted free agent at age 34 in 2025.

The captaincy change marks the potential end of Tavares' career as an NHL captain, which spanned a full decade between his tenure with the Leafs and his five seasons captaining the New York Islanders.

The Athletic's Chris Johnston reported prior to the Leafs' announcement that Tavares was "involved" in discussions regarding the captaincy change and that he "is believed to have supported the handoff to Matthews."

Tavares' children even attended the press conference dressed in Matthews jerseys, per Lindsay Dunn of CityNews Toronto.

Matthews will enter the 2024-25 season as the fifth-youngest captain in the NHL behind only the Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk, Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes, Montreal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki and New Jersey Devils' Nico Hischier.

He is set to face enormous pressure in his first campaign as the team's official leader as the Leafs look to make it past the second round for the first time since drafting Matthews in 2016.