Auston Matthews declares interest in staying a Leafs player for life after being named captain: "That's the goal"

By Evan Bell

Modified Aug 14, 2024 17:38 GMT

This week, Auston Matthews was promoted to captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, replacing John Tavares, who was the 25th captain in team history and held the position since October 2019. With just one year left on his contract, there had been quite a bit of talk surrounding Tavares being replaced as captain after three first-round exits from the playoffs in the past four years.

On Wednesday, the franchise finalized the move, making Auston Matthews the first player born in the U.S. to hold the captain's role with the Maple Leafs. According to Tavares, who released a statement through NHL.com on the heels of the decision, he spoke with Matthews late last month to discuss the move.

As he explained, he has full confidence in Matthews taking over as captain of the team, and is eager for the duo to continue their quest for a Stanley Cup.

After the news was made public, Auston Matthews spoke to media members, making it clear that his goal is to remain a member of the Maple Leafs for the remainder of his career:

"That's the goal, is to be a Leaf for life, to win here, you know, with my teammates for the city. I think those are always things that you kind of keep in the back of your mind, but there are also things that are kind of in the future as well. So I've loved every minute of being a Toronto Maple Leaf.

"Like I said, it's such a tremendous honor. You can only kind of take it one day at a time, but I hope that's the case."

"He's got my full support" - John Tavares weighs in on Auston Matthews taking over as captain of Toronto Maple Leafs

Given the Maple Leafs' first-round exit from the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Playoffs, many fans and analysts felt as though it was time for Tavares to give up the captain position with the team.

At the same time, however, others argued that he should be allowed to remain captain for the final year of his deal. Despite that, after being drafted by the Maple Leafs with the No. 1 pick in 2016, Matthews' captaincy has been a long time coming.

In addition to being the face of the franchise in recent years, he also led the league in scoring three times. Between his emergence as one of the best players in the league, and the future of the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews has Tavares' full support.

While recalling a conversation he had with Auston Matthews late last month, Tavares opened up on the passing of the torch, via NHL.com:

"I just wanted to let him know what I thought about him and that I thought the time was now for him to take charge and be the captain and be the leader of our club and how ready he was for it.

"He's got my full support to continue what when I came here six years ago to do and wanting to bring the Stanley Cup back here to Toronto and finding a way to do that."

This season, the Maple Leafs will once again look to end their championship drought after going over 50 years without winning a Stanley Cup.