Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews shouldn’t be the next captain
With his latest legal troubles, the Toronto Maple Leafs would be wise to keep the vacant captaincy away from Auston Matthews.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had a team captain since they traded their old one, Dion Phaneuf, in 2016. Though the position of “captain” is a bit overrated because any good leader shouldn’t need a “C” on their jersey to be a good leader, it’s still an important role for a team with a storied history like the Leafs.
Ever since Auston Matthews made his NHL debut, people have assumed the captaincy has been kept vacant because the team is waiting for him to be ready. But after his legal issues in Arizona, the Leafs should scrap that idea.
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At the very least, Toronto should keep Matthews away from the captaincy until he proves he is mature enough to know not to do stupid things. However, some details about his legal troubles suggest he simply might not be captain material. You can read up on Matthews’ alleged actions right here.
First of all, what he and his friends allegedly did is not a laughing matter. Matthews and his friends might have believed it would be funny to see how a female security officer would react to a bunch of drunk guys trying to enter her locked car, but it’s simply not funny.
Back in college, I went to Temple University for a semester. I was a bartender to earn some spending money. I was paired with a female classmate and we worked weekends together.
Every night, she would want to walk back with me. I thought nothing of it since we lived in adjacent off-campus houses. Plus, Philly’s not the safest place at night. One night, after walking for about a minute, I realized I didn’t lock the deadbolt, so I told her to go on ahead and I’d catch up.
When I caught up, I saw a bunch of drunk guys hitting on her and harassing her. One of them was even trying to kiss her. Luckily, they were a bunch of cowards and ran when I screamed at them. It was at that precise moment I understood why she wanted to walk with me. I never again let her outside of my sight during our walks home.
Making a woman, let alone a security officer and a veteran, feel intimidated is disturbing. That alone makes what Matthews did nothing short of disgraceful. I can’t imagine how the security officer felt, so I won’t pretend to know how she felt. But as a man, if I were approached by a group of drunk guys, I’d be frightened too. Even if I was in my car.
Another thing which should concern the Leafs is he didn’t tell them about the incident. Had he done so, the Maple Leafs might have been able to provide him with help. Instead, they were blindsided, as general manager Kyle Dubas had to find out about the incident via Twitter.
Matthews didn’t have much to say after practice. In fact, he would have been far better off simply saying, “no comment”. Instead, Matthews didn’t even mention the word “sorry” in his statement to the media.
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What Matthews did is a big deal. His actions from that night in May were illegal, as the disorderly conduct charge he is facing proves. Matthews needs to learn from this situation. Maybe one day he’ll prove himself as a true leader and worthy of wearing the “C” on his jersey. But until then, the Leafs should err on the side of caution, or name someone else as their captain altogether.