NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers - Source: Imagn — NHL: Auston Matthews - Source: Imagn

Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube makes his feelings known about Auston Matthews as a captain following playoff disappointment

Modified May 21, 2025 04:58 GMT

Auston Matthews' first season as the Toronto Maple Leafs captain is in the books.

After the organization decided to hand him the captaincy, taking it away from veteran John Tavares last offseason, the pressure and responsibilities rose for the superstar center.

Being one of the highest-paid players in the league in a market like Toronto comes with plenty of expectations, but wearing the C is a whole different ballgame.

Auston Matthews had to shoulder that load this year, and Craig Berube feels he handled it very well and grew as a leader.

"Obviously, coaching a guy with that much ability, but the person is even more important for me. Great character, great personality. Really enjoyed being around him. I thought his leadership got better and better as the year went along. I thought we worked well together, him and I, from that standpoint," Berube said.

"Towards the end of the season, he really took over in that role. And he's only going to grow as a leader. Now, I think understanding what it takes to be a leader and the things you've got to do, not only on the ice but off the ice, there's a lot that goes into it, and I thought he grew extremely well as a leader," Berube added.

Expand Tweet

In 2025-26, Auston Matthews will be entering the second season of his four-year, $53,000,000 contract extension signed with the Maple Leafs in 2023.

Craig Berube wouldn't discuss whether Auston Matthews was playing injured

The Toronto Maple Leafs fan base has long been speculating that Auston Matthews was playing through an injury.

The 27-year-old didn't look like himself for much of the 2024-25 season, and his head coach was asked about it on Tuesday morning. Craig Berube wasn't willing to use it as an excuse.

"I'm not gonna talk about injuries. I talked to you guys about this earlier, there's a lot of guys playing through a lot of things from that standpoint. That's every team, though, not only ours... They battle their way through; that's all you can do," Berube said.

Expand Tweet

Auston Matthews missed 15 games during the regular season because of a nagging upper-body injury that sidelined him on two different occasions.

He will look to rest and recover this summer in order to enter the 2025-26 campaign at full health and play a full 82-game season.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

Know More

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama