The narrative surrounding the changing of captains can be a tricky one. More often than not, the transition occurs when a player retires, gets traded, or signs with a new team during free agency.
Other times, it's because there are other factors at play, like how the Minnesota Wild used to change their captain monthly, or when Rod Brind'Amour was practically forced to hand it over to Eric Staal in 2010.
The rumblings began on Monday that the Toronto Maple Leafs' captaincy would be given to Auston Matthews with John Tavares' support. On Wednesday, a press conference was held to formalize the decision, featuring a passing of the torch from one captain to another.
Speculation has run rampant about why the decision was made now but Tavares has handled the situation with the class that has followed him his entire career.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping for more with Auston Matthews as captain
Since being drafted first overall in 2016, Auston Matthews has been the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While he's not the only star on the team, Matthews is the first name you think of when talking about Toronto.
In eight years, his name has become synonymous with scoring goals in bunches, with six 40+-goal seasons and two 60+-goal seasons in the last three years. Matthews is only 52 goals away from tying Mats Sundin for the most in franchise history.
While Matthews boasts an incredible resume, including a Hart Trophy and three Rocket Richard honors, the real test will be whether this decision yields results in the postseason. Toronto's postseason losing habits are well documented, with just one postseason series victory in the last two decades.
The criticism of Toronto's "Core 4" is that they fail to click when the lights are the brightest. When one of them is hot, the other three disappear. Hopefully, a new voice at the forefront can change that.
Auston Matthews is sticking around Toronto for a while as his four-year extension kicks in this season. The same can't be said for John Tavares yet.
The outgoing captain enters the 2024-25 season in the final year of his deal, with no extension imminent. Tavares insists on keeping any discussions private but has stated that he'd like to remain with the Maple Leafs beyond the upcoming season.
Turning 34 in September, Tavares still has plenty of hockey ahead of him. He has remained a 60-70-point player (and sometimes a lot more) throughout his career, coming off a 65-point campaign last season. However, one must weigh whether this is a situation they want to stay in.
If he were to hit free agency next offseason, there would be plenty of potential suitors for his services, especially contenders who feel they're on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup.
Time will tell whether this was the right decision for Matthews, Tavares, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. There will be pressure on Matthews to perform well individually. Now, he has the added pressure of being the captain of one of the most polarizing franchises in the NHL.
Both players will get unnecessary levels of scrutiny for everything they do, even before the season starts.
If Toronto doesn't find a way to reverse their postseason fortunes, detractors will be quick to declare this a failure. On October 9th, when Toronto steps onto the ice against the Montreal Canadiens, the next era will begin.