Auston Matthews Is The Leafs New Captain!

Steve Dangle breaks down the reported captaincy change by the Toronto Maple Leafs seeing Auston Matthews replacing John Tavares as captain of the team. Is it the right move? Steve weighs in.
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[@KNS1996DFS]

6:18 "If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, the Leafs would probably choke on that, too." Perfect.

[@PatrickSchraner]

Had me choking 😂

[@PieFights]

what Steve said at 6:18 for those of you who don't know how the If's and buts" were Candy and Nuts came from there was a Legendary OHL radio announcer by the name of Don Cameron that was one of his many one liners

[@niagaradrones]

If my mom had balls, she'd be my dad

[@GGS-mm5wp]

So every year they don’t win the cup, it’s just another choke job?

[@acheesecakeperson]

@@GGS-mm5wp thank you. Why are the flags the only ones who get picked on yet they have 7 cups. What about other teams who who don’t even get to the playoffs. And what about the other first round teams who also don’t win like the kings who always lose 1st round.

[@iamflat]

So after a whole summer of fans begging to change the core 4, all they did was make a different one captain? 😂

[@aic8326]

Yep it's pathetic! This organization is a disgrace, they still think they can win with these guys, or maybe they just don't care as long as the fans keep showing up and they do well in the regular season. I'm sad to still call myself a leafs fan

[@knganth3m]

Hahahahah!! Oilers fan here… hahahah!!! Actually this is good, leaf’s have bad karma when they wore JT jersey and then getting him, and the whole summer about marner?! … get rid of those two please

[@whytehouse4909]

@@aic8326that’s just the thing tho. No matter what, ppl will still show up and they will still sell out. Its bull shit

[@ThexSleepingDragon]

I mean if we still had matt sudin he could carry.

[@aic8326]

@@ThexSleepingDragon who the fuck is Matt sudin? Lol MATS SUNDIN

[@atarileaf]

Oh goodie, they're rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic 🙄

[@betterdaysareatoenailaway]

This whole era has been a fraud. The Matthews era Leafs are a good regular season that loses in round 1 every year except that one time they made it to round 2 and lost in 5 games.

[@Robokingmen]

You're one of those huh

[@shaneturner1809]

I think it would be better press if Tavares and Matthews are at the press conference, Let Tavares hand Matthews the 34 Jersey with the C on it as kind of a passing of the Torch

[@TheUniverseAroundUsNews]

This is a great idea... 👍

[@odoaceroftheneoromanempire7178]

Why? Has Matthews even shown up in the playoffs out of the 8 times he has been there? 48 points in 55 playoff games. Giving the captaincy to another playoff ghost... Might as well just left it with Tavares. Matthews had 48 goals in 52 games at one point during the 2023-2024 Regular season... He has 23 goals in 55 games in the playoffs and one single series win. Should have just left it with Tavares until he retires or gets traded.

[@chrisbee9643]

Yes I would have made it that way, too. That way you would have shutted everybody, who says John was stripped. John wasnt the right choise from day one...

[@McSomething15]

You think something as performative as that will matter at all?

[@3flavourscornetto237]

@@odoaceroftheneoromanempire7178 that’s all that matters? crosby went pointless in 4 seperate series, ovi has .41 goals per game in the playoffs matthews has .48, mcdavid had 0 points in games 6,7 of the stanley cup final, there’s so many captains where points isn’t the only reason they are captain, that’s a boomer ass take

[@jackkerr4572]

Auston Matthews Bert Corbeau Bob Davidson Charlie Conacher Darryl Sittler Dave Keon Dion Phaneuf Doug Gilmour George Armstrong Hap Day Jimmy Thomson John Tavares Ken Randall Mats Sundin Red Horner Rick Vaive Rob Ramage Sid Smith Syl Apps Ted Kennedy Wendel Clark

[@chesschump39]

Whut

[@chesschump39]

That's skill

[@Glacialspring]

Let’s go phaneuf

[@Glacialspring]

Hard hitting defender Dion phaneuf

[@michaelgrant3101]

Sorry no points needed alphabetical by last name

[@DoubleDOwnage]

Respecting your Captain more because he's a better player than you in goal production, is the single dumbest thing I have ever heard. There are plenty of Captains that are not and have not been their team's MVP.

[@mgguygardening]

This exactly. It's not about point production, it's about being a leader on the team and being able to communicate between players and team coaches/management. I'm sure Auston will get there, but why not leave Tavares there until he leaves/retires?

[@NathanWalker-dk2wh]

I think the biggest point of it is if Matthews doesn’t get named captain during this contract, what obligation does he have to stay, and do you expect to sign John to a friendly salary next year when you tell him he’s losing the C.

[@GG-ng6zm]

@@mgguygardening the leader isnt good enough if the team cant step up in big moments

[@deltagolavista1]

@@NathanWalker-dk2wh if the Diva Matthews needs to be captain, then he isn’t captain material.

[@aic8326]

@DoubleDOwnage it's not matthews, matthews is great... The problem was spending all that money on ALL 4 OF THEM! Keep matthews and marner, get rid of nylander and tavares! If they did that they'd have well over $20 mil to to build goaltending defense and/or depth

[@cityplumbing5529]

Strip the“A” from baby Mitchy and give it to Mr. Tavares

[@robrick9361]

Strip the 11 million dollars from both of them and give it to guys who can still play after April.

[@Josh-ux1vy]

Math is hard, it's okay

[@OotoriKyouya]

Goal scoring is not a leadership trait, Steve. That is a very poor argument. There is a reason why Landeskog is the Avs Captain and not Mackinnon, Rantanen or Makar

[@peterrobertson2580]

Especially when he's been out for a year, and retains the C.

[@mattconnollyy]

Every team’s room is different, we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. But… the world you live in where does ovi stand? He just get an A?

[@3flavourscornetto237]

we all know makar will be the captain, landy was named when they were dogshit too, leading by example is a perfectly fine thing

[@goose5462]

@@3flavourscornetto237 McKinnon, he is their leader. Makar is the forward on the blue line that chokers the puck behind his own goal and gets scrored on...... this has happened multiple times.... last year, LOL.

[@OotoriKyouya]

@@mattconnollyy As much as I don't like Ovi because of his support for Putin, I am not stupid to say he is not a great player. That said, he is no leader. He doesn't hold others accountable

[@theonlywayout92]

Honestly I’m bummed that Morgan Rielly didn’t get the Captaincy but I do love Matthews and like this move Go Leafs go

[@LuciferMorningstar____]

no.. Mo is NOT captain material

[@teeflight]

mo is a leafer for life but cmon , this is mattys

[@Borodin410]

Matthews will be the worst captain in Leafs history.

[@Borodin410]

An American as Captain of the Leafs? Uh, no.

[@AnnoyinglyCharming]

Leafs are just so much better when Rielly is out of the line up. The last 2 times he got injuried 6 games last year and 5 the year before they won I think all of them. He is just not it.

[@theseanie9958]

acting like "stripped" isn't accurate is just dishonest. it's semantics. sure they discussed it with him and he agreed to it, but it's not like he brought the idea up. clearly they asked him, and he was just on board with it for the best of the team. that's a leader right there. still, stripped is accurate, albeit not the most generous terminology

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

Yep. It's just like Biden. Sure both him and Tavares "willingly" step down from their roles but both would rather not have been asked to lol

[@theseanie9958]

@@kiroolioneaver8532 how did you manage to make this about US politics...

[@michaelb5119]

​@@kiroolioneaver8532🙄

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

@@theseanie9958 It's called an analogy lol it's another recent high profile situation where someone was pressured to step down from a role (that of his party's nominee) even though he was clearly reluctant. Likewise, Tavares was also most likely reluctant. I'm not making a political point one way or the other I'm comparing recent high profile situations.

[@theseanie9958]

@@kiroolioneaver8532 tavares is aging much more gracefully than biden tho to be fair lol

[@steveray7770]

This must be a joke, right😂 ? There was a time a team captain was chosen by the players themselves, and was seen as their best leader of players, today, it's chosen by the team management and they are picking top point leader on a team, not best leader of men on a team. 🤣

[@yobruhh8161]

Bad move he doesn’t have character or heart to be capitain and he milking the team money

[@acheesecakeperson]

Sure buddy if he only cared about winning the cup then he would have moved. He wants to win Toronto a cup and if he didn’t have heart he would be carrying the leafs by a mile baud check you mind before you say something dumb

[@yobruhh8161]

@@acheesecakeperson carry where if someone carry in playoff its nylander. Trust me he not carrying nothing when he got injured leafs won the same in the regular and when he didn’t play in the playoffs they were winning ✋🏽😄🤚🏽

[@acheesecakeperson]

@@yobruhh8161 bro is yapatron. Also he carries regular season and if he doesn’t carry there you don’t GET TO PLAYOFFS. Also wills shows up 5% of the time. Willy has more turnover than him and plays no d he doesn’t wanna block shots. Matthews was the leading block shot forward. BRO SHOULD GET CHECKED FOR DEMENTIA 🤣

[@Spykitty358]

Name all 25 Captains of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Steve we can't even count past 2.

[@KieronSweeney]

John Tavares: 2019-20 - Present (No Captain): 2016-17 - 2018-19 Dion Phaneuf and (No Captain): 2015-16 Dion Phaneuf: 2010-11 - 2014-15 (No Captain): 2008-09 - 2009-10 Mats Sundin: 1997-98 - 2007-08 Doug Gilmour: 1994-95 - 1996-97 Wendel Clark: 1991-92 - 1993-94 Rob Ramage: 1989-90 - 1990-91 (No Captain): 1986-87 - 1988-89 Rick Vaive: 1981-82 - 1985-86 Darryl Sittler: 1975-76 - 1980-81 Dave Keon: 1969-70 - 1974-75 George Armstrong: 1957-58 - 1968-69 Jimmy Thomson and Ted Kennedy: 1956-57 Sid Smith: 1955-56 Ted Kennedy: 1948-49 - 1954-55 Syl Apps: 1945-46 - 1947-48 Bob Davidson: 1943-44 - 1944-45 Syl Apps: 1940-41 - 1942-43 Red Horner: 1938-39 - 1939-40 Charlie Conacher: 1937-38 Hap Day: 1927-28 - 1936-37 Bert Corbeau: 1926-27 Babe Dye: 1925-26 John Ross Roach: 1924-25 Jack Adams: 1923-24 Reg Noble and Jack Adams: 1922-23 Reg Noble: 1920-21 - 1921-22 Frank Heffernan: 1919-20 Ken Randall: 1917-18 - 1918-19

[@JD-hm2wo]

@@KieronSweeney i went from Tavares to Sundin, forgot about the pylon lol

[@kamojet]

@@KieronSweeney I think you just solved all of Toronto's problems. The players forgot about their ghosts. I think the players need to see this list and remember who they're repping...

[@nerinamak3298]

Surely this will be the move that put them over the top.

[@jkpupo1]

ahahah, mathews will never lift the cup

[@oscarmurillo4067]

They are now going from first round exits to not making the playoffs. Nice work Toronto. 👍

[@FantasyIce]

That's quite funny, we're still making the playoffs tho

[@ronevens8268]

@@FantasyIce not that funny, Captains usually step up to protect their players, cant see him standing up to anybody, well maybe Justin Bieber

[@totallykoolyeah]

I guess it depends what you want out of a captain.. More than goals I would think

[@FantasyIce]

@@ronevens8268 did u not see Matthews fight Stamkos in the playoffs? Guessing not

[@sportingchances9761]

Believing that Tavares wasn't stripped because that's what they said is like believing everyone who resigns from their job during a scandal wasn't going to get fired if they didn't. It doesn't really change anything, Matthews doesn't seem like Captain material, doesn't have any leadership material, at least from what he shows publicly, he isn't a commanding personality. It doesn't matter, the Leafs will still be golfing by the second week of May next year.

[@tonycaniggia]

golfing suits the Leaves well

[@ichabodcraen]

It's the same as saying the team and the coach Mutual agreed to part ways. It's usually smoke screen

[@JonnDuune]

You need to do a final John Ikea.. How to build a captain.

[@samuelwilkinson7524]

Shoulda given it to Simon Benoit

[@AlbertRocca-rx9bi]

The only respectable player on the team, no?

[@theultranationalist]

I would have preferred Benoit

[@michaelb5119]

David kampf snubbed

[@techwitoutspex]

Is kampf still a leaf?

[@dw1784]

Give it to Marner. Then watch him leave next July. Awkward 😂

[@guillaumetremblaydallaire8406]

Good luck getting far in the playoffs with the same core players that’s are taking up too much cap space while simultaneously underperforming when it matters the most

[@ronangibson4330]

Monday August 12th at 7:00pm just as I expected

[@OnestoAdam]

Nailed it!

[@pahul79]

Tavares after losing to BOS talking about “being right there, being so close”. Morgan rielly in his interview said “we aren’t close to anything, we need a lot of improvement and work”. Brendan shannahan mocked “being close” idea in his end of season interview, with the new owner. This is exactly why Tavares got stripped, he was not a good captain and this move needed to happen. 2 points in 7 games in the playoffs

[@Marixa1979]

Yeah, definitely closer now with the guy that sat out do or die games in the playoffs due to a "sickness", or an "illness from a hit", or some mystery injury, that was never explained after the season. He bailed on the team when it mattered and now he's the captain.

[@pahul79]

@@Marixa1979 he lost over 20 pounds in a matter a week, that’s how sick he was. He still played and was way more impactful than Tavares and marner both. Tavares and marner got outproduced by depth players

[@Matt-sl1wg]

That quote, and others like it are why I've always felt that Morgan should be Captain. He should have been made the Captain when they gave it to Tavares. Only guy in the core that's actually accountable.

[@betterdaysareatoenailaway]

Matthews and Marner aren't much better in the playoffs, especially in elimination games. The whole roster has been completely underwhelming in the post-season and I don't see a symbolic move like changing captains doing anything to improve the team's chances of actually going deep in the playoffs. These players simply do not have what it takes. Whatever "it" is, they do not have it. We have eight years of disappointment as proof.

[@guymmiller1]

JT is the ONLY player among that group of stat monkeys to take a team to the second round of the playoffs

[@mns2360]

I have always believed that a captin should be able to lead in the playoff. And with that logic NO ONE on this team should be captin so I can settle with Matthew 😅

[@jonasgorea3823]

They thought they were slick. Dropping this in the middle of August 😂

[@deltagolavista1]

Tavares is a team player. Of course he's going to 'fully support' the change and be 'heavily involved in the process.' When management asks him to do something, he does it without question. He is being stripped. You cannot sugarcoat it more. The process 'started after falling to the Bruins,' is basically saying as Captain, he can't take this team further than he has and it's time to give new blood a try. If Wednesday announcement also doesn't come with a Tavares extension, I think this would be the first step of running Tavares out of town in either letting him walk, or trading him to a team that'll sign him to an extension. If it does come with an extension, this was probably part of his negotiations and T.O. saying 'we'll only sign you if you give up the C."

[@zachhaist6426]

Exactly right. He didn't have a choice, he knows this was gonna happen with or without his consent.

[@showdown2006]

Where did he ever take this team? guy had one of the worst contracts this team ever signed and look at them now. I don't want to hear anything about a JT contract extension unless he is willing to take a serious haircut and reduce his role. Basically he shouldn't be part of the core 4, and if they do resign him in this way that is how they'll indicate how they made changes.

[@deltagolavista1]

@@showdown2006 it wasn’t one of the worst contracts the team ever signed. It’s revisionist to think that. Matthews and Marner’s contracts are way worse than his.

[@tonycaniggia]

Nah he proved it with Isles he is not a team player

[@showdown2006]

@@deltagolavista1 Marner's I agree his is pretty bad. I wouldn't say Matthew's contract is the worst but not the best either. Ultimately I found JT didn't live up to his worth.

[@user-fc2tj8lf2m]

Matthews is no Gilmour, Clark or Sundin.

[@Shakes-P]

Good 1 burn, Non of them scored over 50 either. Whats ur point. Its the 2020s not the 80s 90s or 2000s....

[@user-fc2tj8lf2m]

@@Shakes-P they were complete players. Not just skill, but grit, heart and always put it on the line. If you aren't capable of understanding this, perhaps you should take up watching basketball lol

[@Shakes-P]

​@@user-fc2tj8lf2myeah ok, Matthews is now amongst the top hits and block leaders in terms of forwards, always in the selke hunt & the best player on the team. Am I missing something here. Those minus being the best player on the team & goal scorer in the world are reasons why he is Captain. Keep trying. Im a die hard Clark & Gilmour fan. Matthews brings different tangibles to the table.

[@husg13]

@@Shakes-P THIS

[@jkpupo1]

aki berg

[@DoubleDOwnage]

Time for John Tavares to enter free agency on a record setting career year.

[@weecoclea9273]

Question is does he like the song “Dupe - Shoqnia” 😅😅

[@dronemachine4694]

Even if Tavares was involved he was absolutely stripped. We can be nice and say relieved if you want. But the fact is if Tavares was good at being captain he’d still be the captain.

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

Name leaf captains in alphabetical order; Me: Peter Zezel, ahh crap, looks like I'm out.

[@EnglishFuture-xg1gw]

Phanuff? Roberts?

[@KShea44]

I love how you defined what “being stripped of captaincy” means, by describing exactly what just happened to John Tavares. Here’s a thought, let’s not try and convince people that this organization is in a good place, because it’s not.

[@skyhigh388]

Translation: Leafs strip the Captaincy from John Tavares. Everyone knows this.

[@lucasmcconnell3201]

Treliving confirmed this. He approached Tavares about it. That is stripping him of the captaincy.

[@MarioSpeedWagon]

@@lucasmcconnell3201 thats called spin and youre all eating it up, why i dont know

[@chrisg1556]

This was going to happen at some point. It's just happening a season earlier than I expected. Also, Im wondering if JT will now be without a letter altogether. Im assuming Tanev will now get an A.

[@WalkableBulb905]

Rielly will have the A full time and Tavares will have it with him MAYBE rotating it with Marner. Imo Rielly is the leader of the team but we all knew it would be Matthews

[@peterrobertson2580]

Rielly is the longest serving Leaf and shows a lot of leadership. He has to have one A. I don't know how you could not give AM's A to JT without making this whole thing look more like an insult. They won't strip Marner, but it's really a wasted A.

[@Hydrog666]

How the hell can Steve say he wasn't stripped of his captaincy when we all know he was. They literally took his captaincy away, and gave it to AM34. How bro????

[@AnnoyinglyCharming]

It is all semantics read: (*HE GOT STRIPPED FROM THE C*) His heavy involvement was simply: Leafs: "Hey John we want Matts to be captain bro, you good cuh?" John: "sure i guess i have no choice but let me pretend I'm involved to save face and talk to him first." Leafs: "whateves fool"

[@LeoBond]

Exactly! Can you believe Dangle fell for that claptrap??

[@odoaceroftheneoromanempire7178]

*We want to sell a ton more jerseys with the C crest on Matthews chest. Do not take it personal, ok T?

[@Dominicanadaa]

Even if it was passed on naturally and they explained the truth, people like you would not believe it anyway with the tinfoil hat. It is a lose-lose.

[@AnnoyinglyCharming]

@@LeoBond Steve likes to push a nice narrative because it's his favorite team

[@adamp2056]

Are you a 13 year old valley girl? Who talks like that?

[@ozma6918]

Darren Dreger: "Expect the Leafs to name Matthews captain on wednesday" Imagine if the Leafs' front office saw that and just went: "Well, now we're not doing it!!" 😂

[@AlbertRocca-rx9bi]

How many days until the "JT demands trade" news breaks

[@mattrix4200]

Soooo.... how many teams do you think will be destroying their salary cap for a player who's: * Past prime years... * Has an 11-million cap hit... * Is in the last year of his contract... I mean aside from the obvious (Dubas in Pittsburgh) is there really a GM out there who is paid to destroy their team as fast as possible?

[@michaelb5119]

Aint gonna happen

[@rickyma3189]

He has 3 young children. I don't think he wants to move to another city. Has his family in Mississauga close by. He will sign a team friendly home town discount and remain a Maple Leaf for the rest of his career. Book it!

[@kronik658]

He has 1 year on his contract left and his cap hit is negative value so at least this year he’s not going anywhere

[@marsupialsr]

im sure JT doesnt even care that much, probly just wants to have a nice stable life with his family at this point, and maybe a very low chance of fluking his way to a stanley cup final with the Leafs. He probably knows his real chance of winning the cup is behind him now.

[@abyssshriek7631]

I’m tired of these teams just making their ‘best’ player the captain. The captaincy is more than just being the best. It’s about owning the room, being a leader, and commanding respect from your teammates. I think Nylander would’ve been a better captain based on how he conducts himself in interviews and behind the scenes type stuff

[@20thCenturyManTrad]

George Armstrong was never the best player when the Leafs was in the glory years of the 60s, but he was clearly the heart and soul of the team, even with a bunch of guys who were leaders, guys like Pulford, Horton, Stanley, Baun, Keon, Kelly, Mahovlich. Mahovlich was the one of the franchise players, so was Keon. Armstrong was the hard working corner two way forward who was Keon's right winger. No one on that Leafs team would ever have wanted a different captain. Armstrong kept the roster together, could communicate with all the players, get the players up when they were feeling down, and all that stuff. If one of the plucky grinders, has that kind of control of a room, that kind respect, or if John Tavares still holds that kind of respect, then that player should have the room.

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Literal insane take. I like Nylander but to call his cool and casual attitude as one of a leader is ridiculous.

[@aadarshviswanathan2825]

Somewhere in Ontario, Paul Marner and Darren Ferris are in shambles

[@keatonwalsh15]

Look at how Quinn Hughes changed the Cannucks after he became captain

[@dawsonholdsworth5371]

@@keatonwalsh15 Either this won't change Matthews. He'll still track 60-plus goals this season. The team will continue to play "out score all the problems, because we didn't know that behind the blue line exists," or Matthews will tame out and start passing the puck more, which will lead to less personal goals, but more overall goals for the team. I'm leaning to not changing and still being a one man team that he is.

[@bannersmash1535]

Come on, Steve! Mathews is their best REGULAR SEASON player since the Leafs last Stanley Cup. He is nowhere near their best play-off player. He would be hard-pressed to make it into the top ten best playoff players since the Doug Gilmore era. The Leafs from the Pat Quinn era have had many forwards that were far better play-off performers than Mathews has been. Mathews has been average at best as a playoff performer, which makes his regular season records far less noteworthy.

[@mannyo2909]

Emphasis on regular season

[@KenCalgary-ne3jp]

Watching Matthews getting rag dolled over the years with the entire Leaf bench looking on disinterested tells fans everything about Matthews character. Matthews is captain of Matthews only. He is all in for Matthews.

[@stankodamanko7649]

They could have named Bigfoot captain, still can't win a cup

[@fartmckenzie6463]

Easier to find a colour photo of bigfoot.

[@georgewyatt2924]

Matthews never struck me as a leader. Often, the best players are not the captain, but the best leaders are - think Mark Stone. I agree, we need more than a captain announcement for the Leafs to improve.

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Mark Stone is a caveman. Overrated.

[@PeterCPRail8748]

Won't make a lick of difference, just like Tavares, Matthews is not captain material. His constant no shows in the post season proves it. This is nothing more than window dressing, putting lipstick on a pig, and passing it off as a super model. MLSE still isn't doing the one thing that is obvious. 2 of the core 4 have to go. Now that they pulled a fast one with this window dressing, I am calling a 12.5 mill Marner contract announcement within the next month. As a leaf fan, this announcement means nothing to me doesn't change a thing.

[@Ok-ik4ww]

Had a point in the only game 7 goal btw

[@Brurat11]

@@Ok-ik4wweasiest assist ever after Carlo toe picked. That was all nylander and stroke of luck

[@STNeish]

I don't care for it. Matthews is the team's best player, that doesn't mean he's the best Captain. Look at what happened to Doug Gilmour when he got the C. All the added pressure and expectation seriously diminished his game. Sometimes, it's better to let your best players JUST PLAY.

[@conyo1942]

The guy with 1 goal in 8 playoff games? Huh?

[@kniesDat]

Yeah the guy with 48 points in 55 playoff games. 69 ginos last year. Calder, Hart, Ted Lindsey, 3x Rocket and counting. And he's a Leaf for life 😍

[@Bigguy-g1g]

Wanna add some context? The guy with 4 point contributed to 4 of the 8 goals in the 5 games he was in had a head injury and a virus bad enough to get pulled during the third period and miss 2 games. Context is important until you dislike someone

[@betterdaysareatoenailaway]

Yep. The guy who missed two HUGELY important games this year (games the team managed to win). Then he came back for Game 7, which we, of course, lost. Stripping J.T. of the captaincy when he's the player who scored the goal that won the ONLY SERIES the Leafs have won in the entire Matthews era, is freakin lame. We'll see if Matthews wearing the C will help the team win more than its usual 3 playoff games a year, but I'm not confident.

[@kniesDat]

@@betterdaysareatoenailaway wasn't stripped, get your facts checked. Matthews literally assisted the only goal in game 7 for the Leafs while not 100% so idk how ur gonna imply he's the reason they lost

[@Bigguy-g1g]

@@betterdaysareatoenailaway those games they scored 4 goals with woll being a wall the team in general was bad the pp was miserable jt who to our knowledge rn gave the c to Matthews so he didn’t get it stripped

[@datriaxsondor590]

Or maybe Tavares is just being a good soldier, Dingleberry. You blindly believe everything you're told? He was stripped of the C. That's not the worst part. He was stripped of the C, and had to stand there and pretend he supported the move, and watch it go to the biggest cream puff in NHL history. Get real, man.

[@davidhart1118]

As a fan of hockey i hope that this makes a difference.

[@pyqio]

How would things change, exactly? The big4 are the same, and they just rotated the C to another one of them. That's it. Leafs will probably get to the playoffs, but then Matthews will remember how much he wants to fly out of the city, and will make sure not to do his job. This time with a C, though.

[@blizzardwuffy]

This is some high quality off season Steve content, I'm here for it 👏🏻

[@IainMacaulayce]

wow, great player, poor captain choice

[@PJ-ov6bh]

Honestly idk how much this matters or not. Like how many more wins does this translate into? That being said, it's nice to have some fun Leafs news in the dawg days of summer. Props to both JT and Papi! GLG

[@angrydalailama6089]

What else is Tavares gonna say? Would he REALLY say, "uh, obviously, I, uh, don't agree"?

[@dhj1182]

Brown in LA said that when they took his C

[@acheesecakeperson]

For all those who who say he can’t handle the pressure and stuff he has been handling the pressure since day one because he is the face of the franchise and as the captain he still has the pressure nothing changes.

[@morgangentle1515]

Zach Hyman scored more and got alot of them where the count in the playoffs

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Zach Hyman stands in front of the net and cleans up McDavid's rebounds. The overrating and ball gargling he recieves from scorned Leafs fans and eager Leafs haters is ridiculous.

[@morgangentle1515]

Your a clown 🤡 that’s not all he does , and you try standing in front of the net with nhl defenders all over you see how easy it is

[@Spotnick2]

I'm not a Leafs fan, but if I remember well, Matthews had more goals than line 2-3-4 from the Habs last season, so yeah, he's that good.

[@AceMatthew25414]

Mooning a Cop and lackluster playoff performances with lack of the right emotions= Captain material in Toronto, classic.

[@korbynshaggy666]

Those charges were dropped but when your team drafts sex offenders and ilk of that character your opinions carry no value tell mom to pull the car around lil bro

[@worstusername]

get over it bruh ...

[@bowdenproductions]

Anyone who doesn’t think Auston isn’t the best Leaf of all time, barring any injuries, he’s on pace to overtake Mats Sundin before he turns 30. Sundin was 37.

[@conorcahill5422]

It doesn't matter who will be captain. Toronto are pretty much in an inescapable hell. They aren't going to make much progression no matter who is in charge of the team. It's the Toronto Maple Leafs, after all.

[@g-man5466]

Wow, not even SD’s typical hyperbolic “performance” can make this right! While perhaps not a major structural change, it is, however, a move that will have a negative impact not only in the dressing room but also the ticket-purchasing fan base. IMO, this was a desperate, “throw crap on the wall and see if it sticks”, cut-throat move from a team that has run out of solutions. JT has earned and deserves better. Shameful. Only a quantifiably massive upside can even remotely come close to making this right.

[@djrocks1220]

NICK COUSINS LETS GOOOO

[@edited1325]

Bro he’s a bum who is scratched half of the time

[@slider903]

Panthers fan. I didn’t like him very much.

[@HandsomeDanVacationRentals]

“Arguably the best player in the world…” easy now don’t hurt yourself. Mathews is great but McDavid is still hands down the best player in the world. There is as much a talent gap between him and Mathews as there is between Mathews and Nylander. Both are great but it’s not close. And I’m a Flames fan who can’t wait for the day when McJesus goes to another team so I can cheer for him. Except the Avs or Canadians. Never them either.

[@DampfGecko]

"Everything is on the table" for the Leafs, even a new jersey patch for Matthews 👌 unmatched bravery in roster construction

[@Oldmanflyfishing]

John didn’t get stripped??? Tree, went to him and more or less asked him to give it up willingly. They made it as classy as possible but let’s call a spade a spade here, he was asked to give it up.

[@macleanclassics]

Goals don't make a captain, leading your team through the fire does... I honestly don't think the leafs have a captain right now.

[@MrOsaka24]

Reilly only

[@colejonathan3309]

The Zamboni driver would have the better choice.😂

[@CloneGamer34]

I’m actually kind of excited for a change for once

[@mikes7446]

Lol

[@andrewmccarthy9427]

I am a fan of this. I was livid when they gave Tavares the captaincy. I actually really wanted them to name Zach Hyman the captain. He was perfect captain. Heart and soul type guy.

[@rickyma3189]

MLSE- jersey sales are down... any solutions? Leafs front office- we could make Auston the captain, Leafs fans will go crazy buying the 'new' jersey with the 'C' on it.

[@gahroe]

ding ding ding

[@1985HabsFanForever]

You have to absolutely feel for Steve. After every disappointment the Leafs level at him he lays out what the team needs to do. Then as team doesn’t do those things he comes here an desperately tries to find the positive in what they do.

[@Outta-hz1ej]

His ideas are moronic, he was extremely eager for the Leafs to trade Kadri.

[@kylestoddart]

What a slap in the face to JT. Of course he is publicly ok with it. What you expect him to say?. Shanny and Tree need to fuuuuuuuu right off!!! Hope your summer is slammin Dangle

[@husg13]

this is shannys last chance with MLSE. Im not exactly pleased with it myself but they got a new coach, a new captain, mitch on a contract year, a possible stud in Woll and i think Tre is doing a ok job so far, .... lets just see what happens. Not like we arent use to losing. gotta try and beleaf.

[@kylestoddart]

@@husg13 I had this same optimism for the last 8 seasons. God bless you my friend.

[@tonykung8756]

Honestly, whether anyone thinks the captaincy is stripped from Tavares or not is subjective, regardless of the random PR stuff that the Leafs did before that. You can say the captaincy was never stripped from Thornton had the Sharks went 'oh, Thornton supported this move in the background too..' The correct move would be to let JT be captain for one more year until his contract runs out, then there would be a 'need' to fill that vacancy and naturally give it to Matthews...

[@leaf16nut]

They should have waited until game 1, each have a patch on their shoulder saying their current letter, met at center ice, John hands a torch to matthews and they simultaneously rip their patches off revealing Matthews as captain and John as being traded to San Jose 🙃

[@THORAXtheimpaler]

Taking the C away from the only guy on the team who gives a shit, the guy who dragged the team kicking and screaming into the second round for the first time in decades, is peak Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are an embarrassment.

[@cleanx799]

At least Tavares is good with it

[@AlbertRocca-rx9bi]

Would you care to purchase a bridge? It's a bargain.

[@Mark-fy9iu]

Most of my friends wouldn't spend a moment of their day on this...but I got to flash your cover screen before all their eyes.

[@Rob-uc8zr]

Matthews earned the 'C' of the Leafs when he ditched the team for 3 games in the 1st round last playoffs, really personifying the nature of the franchise!

[@ChAiNReAcTiOnBG]

Dude looked like a ghoul brother, who knows how sick the man was

[@burtonm3220]

thanks for the laughs. you never fail to put a big grin on my face. your energy is infectious.

[@KieronSweeney]

JT shows true leadership as a Captain. Willingly passing the torch is "Class". That is leadership. He genuinely nad unselfishly cares about the Leafs. He will retire here and hopefully win a cup. Well done JT. Leaf Forever!!

[@angrydalailama6089]

Nah, he's leaving.

[@amanasd26]

Matthews showed true class when he pulled down his pants as he approached a woman security guard in her car. doesn't get any classier

[@coyotecrewman79]

As an Ottawa fan, it looks like the right move at the right time for this franchise. A nice passing of the torch before the season starts prevents and in-season distraction of changing Captains and Auston has played enough seasons and accomplished enough personal accolades that he can easily step into the role. With the extension in place, this is now Auston's team and it'll be interesting to see if he can put this team on his back and carry it to glory. I hope he succeeds in his new role. Good luck Leafs. (I wouldn't mind seeing them win it all, their fans deserve it.)

[@ct-117]

A team's captain is not necessarily their best player. The Jets' captain is Adam Lowry. The Hurricanes' captain is Jordan Staal. Why? Because they're leaders, both on and off the ice. Is Matthews a talented hockey player? Absolutely. But is he a leader? Someone you can rally behind? Someone who will lead you into battle? Heck no. The guy visibly does not care about winning and never has. I always think back to an interview he did with Sportsnet after the 2021 season. (AKA the most embarrassing loss the team had suffered in his career) He was just so chill and unbothered. He doesn't care that his team is the joke of the league and he's garnered a reputation as a regular season player who goes AWOL most postseasons. As long as he gets his bag and puts up his numbers beating up on crap teams in February, he's content. He's not a leader. He's a showpiece. Reilly or heck, even Domi would have been a better choice. Congrats to Toronto on their 2025 first round loss

[@Kenpoman999]

Is it just me or is Steve's impression of John starting to sound like Hank Hill?

[@brianwilliams8475]

You know like genuis like you know it all. I did not see Matthew's put the leafs on his shoulders and get them to the Stanley cup final. Does what he .always did first round exit. Time to realize he is not the answer in toronto.

[@amgm4824]

6:19 OMG 😂😂😂😂 that was fantastic

[@slider903]

Panthers fan: What. The. F***.😂😂😂😂😂. One goal in what 8 playoff games? Immortality is not earned in the regular season.

[@fredrickolsen838]

The best goal scorer doesn’t necessarily mean the best leader. I love Austin, he is a pleasure to watch on the ice, but I don’t really know anything else about him. He’s still so young, but he seems to have every quality to be a great Captain. Sundin was one of the best, never breached the 50 goal marker, but if you know hockey you know how brilliant Sundin was watching him on the ice. Whenever there was a shootout or penalty shot, if Sundin was in the line up, it was a guaranteed goal, and usually the same move, forehand to backhand and in the roof. No goalie stood a chance.

[@tchallenges]

Woahhhhh it's almost like we all said this should have happened a while ago

[@zachlesk5685]

It’s not gonna make a difference 😂

[@pyqio]

they just rotated the C to another Big4

[@cochese95]

I think that this act makes it easier to trade him if something good comes our way. The fans be more accepting if he is not our captain. Sucks to think about because he has been clutch in so many ways for us. Remember the goal against Tampa that go us to the second round in 23?

[@zcohen17]

There is no way Matthews ever catches Ovi, what a joke

[@Outta-hz1ej]

Matthews is outscoring Ovi when he was the same age and Ovechkin also had 2 lockouts and a pandemic hurt his career not to mention scoring is up in the NHL.

[@zcohen17]

@@Outta-hz1ej it’s not about the first 400, it’s that he will need the second 400 in a very similar number of games as the first. Ovi keeping a similar pace in goal scoring for 16 straight years and missing virtually no time is why he will beat Gretzky, not his peak. Matthews already has a more intensive injury history than Ovi has had his entire career.

[@mikes7446]

This was Toronto’s Stanley cup

[@zachlesk5685]

“The deserving Auston Matthews” what has he EVER done to show that he can be a reliable LEADER not a point scorer but a team leader who everyone looks up to Edit cause yall seem to think i actually like the leafs 😂 im a die hard panthers fan who revels in the misery and pain the leafs and their fans suffer through each season

[@Leafsdude_]

This. Leave it with Tavares or give it to someone like Tanev. This is just rewarding failure.

[@pyrogaming5071]

what the fuck did you think was going to happen? another aging leafs for another year or 3 to be the next captain? this has been in the writing since he was drafted.. fucking leafs fans i get why people hate us.

[@coastaku1954]

Leads the team in Points, by a long shot. The face of the franchise, a media darling, loves the city, loves the team, Auston has worked hard and shows that he can set a standard for the boys

[@amanasd26]

Matthews showed true leadership when he pulled down his pants as he approached a woman security guard in her car. That takes real initiative and courage

[@coastaku1954]

@@amanasd26 How long ago was that?

[@pocketofshades2398]

Is anyone forgetting the fact, that Auston Matthews only has 48 career payoff points, and he's been there every years since he has been drafted. Auston is the greatest regular season leaf since they last won the cup, but playoffs still count. I am not saying he won't be a good captain but will him getting the C actually make the excuses for the poor performance in the playoffs actually come to light or will he still get the same old excuse "well he wasn't feeling good" or "he was injured".

[@Triple87]

A friend of mine (Habs fan) is already running with the “Tavares got stripped. He’s getting traded” narrative.

[@gibberish5388]

This has nothing to do with "your friend" being a Habs fan, but "your friend" should research what no move clauses mean.

[@MikeNapoletano]

The change captains they could build a new arena doesn’t matter THE LEAFS WILL NEVER WIN UNTIL THEY GET A REAL GOALIE!!! that’s the bottom line!!!

[@madeyousmile8133]

Imagine leafs somehow manage a cup win during matthews first year of captaincy

[@pajamatime5750]

Haha yeahhhhhhh

[@dronemachine4694]

Captain tummy ache? No shot

[@chargerscharlie1]

I mean let’s not be so naive to say that if the leafs were planning on stripping the captaincy that they wouldn’t approach John first to see if he would pass it willingly. And if the team started the convos after the playoff loss, isn’t that kinda him getting stripped lol

[@MrC37]

genuinely asking what is the hype about being captain?

[@GregScholfield]

It only matters if it matters. Many captains are irrelevant but CAPTAINS lead their teams to victory. For some reason I think this is captain is a captain and not a CAPTAIN.

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

You're virtually the formal liaison between coaches/management/ownership and the team. Sure, on like a Colorado, you do have players like Nate MacKinnon who is the real "de facto" captain. But if/when the Leafs win that Cup and that immortal image of the first Leaf to touch the Cup in over half a century isn't you (when you grew up in the GTA and have probably dreamed of that moment)? That's a bitter pill lol

[@GregScholfield]

@@kiroolioneaver8532 On this team, with this management, none of that matters. You're right of course, just not on this team...

[@McSomething15]

How often does the Cup Champs' captain finish the regular season as the team's scoring leader?

[@Outta-hz1ej]

In the last 10 years, 2018 Capitals 2017 Penguins 2016 Penguins 2015 Blackhawks

[@yuno3166]

Lol still 1st round exit .

[@tankdiggs8974]

never heard that before...keep it moving you're boring . Got any 67 jokes or Zamboni Driver jokes they are all so fresh and original and you don't sound like a puppet at all

[@Rain.34.89]

Nah, might get lucky like in 2023 and fluke out a single series win.

[@yuno3166]

@tankdiggs8974 its not a joke ... It's just not the move that we all want. Lol. Did it hurt your feelings? You seem to have a lot of emotion regarding this comment?

[@tankdiggs8974]

@yuno3166 it's honestly boring. I don't lose sleep over small-minded comments. But for realnIbget Leaf fans get made fun of but it's just tired and boring the same jokes. Make fun of them all you want but it's been years of the same jokes. Try and be creative.

[@tankdiggs8974]

@yuno3166 like to prove my point. It doesn't matter what the topic is. The jokes are in one of those 3 categories. It's an clip about Auston becoming Captain and you jumped to one of those 3 categories of jokes. Him becoming captain had nothing to do with Playoffs until your hilarious joke and be honest if it wasn't you about 30 others would have made the same joke. Yaaaaaawn.

[@TheBeardedPickle]

Well sheesh didn’t realize how much I missed Steve’s stand-alone videos until I heard the first 10 seconds of this vid. Loud Steve feels like home dunno how else to put it