Toronto Maple Leafs: Mike Babcock names assistant captains for season

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock has announced the team’s assistant captains ahead of the 2018-19 season, and the list has one noticeable omission.

Mike Babcock recently sat down with TSN’s Darren Dreger and discussed the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ captaincy situation.

During the discussion, Babcock announced that Morgan Rielly, Patrick Marleau and top summer free agent signing John Tavares will be the players with letters on their jerseys for the 2018-19 NHL season.

This means that Rielly and Marleau will retain their alternate ‘A’s from last season, with Tavares also being given an ‘A’ to start the season.

"“The guys who will wear letters for us this year are Marleau, Tavares and Rielly.” – Babcock talking to TSN’s Darren Dreger."

General Manager Kyle Dubas announced earlier in the summer that the team would not name a permanent captain at the start of this season, with many believing Tavares would be one of the logical candidates when the time comes.

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But one other player, who is also viewed as the potential future captain of the team, has surprisingly not been named in Babcock’s official leadership group.

Auston Matthews is a young stud and is a prime candidate to one day sport the ‘C’ for the Maple Leafs and has been right at the heart of the summer-long media debate, with Tavares.

So, for a player of his calibre to be considered a top candidate for the long-term captaincy but not receive an alternate ‘A’ is quite noteworthy.

What is also worth noting is that Babcock names Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri as unofficial, second-tier leaders on his team and bunches Matthews along with William Nylander and Mitch Marner as third-tier leaders.

Having a committee of alternate captains is a logical move for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have not operated with a permanent captain since trading Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators in February 2016.

However, omitting Matthews is an interesting decision from the veteran coach and will be an intriguing storyline to follow as the season progresses, with teams able to name an additional fourth alternate if they do not name a permanent captain.

What do you think Leafs Nation? Are you surprised by Babcock’s decision to not name Matthews as an alternate? Do you think we’ll see him sport the letter at some point this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.