Toronto Maple Leafs: Are they leaning towards Auston Matthews as the next captain?
By James Reeve
Auston Matthews donned a ‘C’ on his jersey at the 2019 All-Star Game and Toronto Maple Leafs fans might have to get used to that image this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have not officially named a new captain, but it certainly appears as if Auston Matthews has already been chosen to lead the way forward.
The Leafs haven’t had a captain since they traded away Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators back in February 2016 and there have been plenty of debates as to who is deserving of the honour.
Matthews has regularly been named alongside Morgan Rielly and John Tavares as potential future captains of the team and the young superstar may have already been given the honour, even though it has not been made public knowledge.
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In a video posted to the team’s official Instagram account, a brief glimpse of Matthews appears to show a faint outline of a ‘C’ on his jersey, potentially airbrushed out to try and mislead the public into believing nothing has been decided yet.
It does seem that the team is finally ready to announce their official decision regarding the captaincy, with Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston revealing, via Twitter, that head coach Mike Babcock said an announcement will be coming fairly soon.
The Instagram video has had Leafs fans in full force on social media, creating their own amusingly edited photos of Matthews with ‘C’s on his jersey, with the majority of fans appearing to be happy with the young American centre becoming the team’s new leader if it is announced to be as such.
Matthews has had a positive summer since experiencing a third consecutive first-round playoff exit with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Having a named captain will be a huge decision for the organisation, but if it has already been made and Matthews truly is ‘the guy’, then it shouldn’t be too long before it is officially revealed.
Now the Leafs just need to lock up Mitch Marner and all can be right with the world.
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What do you think Leafs fans? Would you be happy is Matthews is named as the team’s captain? Do you think the video truly shows an airbrushed ‘C’? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!