Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner Should Not be Captain
The Toronto Maple Leafs do not currently have a captain.
Twitter is a very interesting place. It can be used for good things like news updates, following your favorite celebrity or communicating with others with similar interests to you. There is also the dark side of twitter, Hockey Twitter but more specifically Toronto Maple Leafs Twitter. One of the biggest double-edged sword aspects of twitter is that everyone gets a voice. Everyone. Normally you can restrict this to the people you follow, but sometimes you see a tweet so bad you feel your blood pressure raise. For me this week, it was someone saying Mitch Marner should be Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The only logical reason I could think that this would be a good idea is that he is a “Good Canadian Kid”. Yes, Marner was assistant captain of his OHL London Knights, but that was towards 16-21 year olds. The ongoing joke among the team is that Patrick Marleau is Marner and Matthews’ dad. Do you really think that the older players would listen to Marner? Now, this idea goes against my thought that Matthews should be Captain. Based on current NHL Captains (not including assistants), only 5 of 25 are wingers. The role is generally reserved for Centres or Defencemen.
For those who are seriously considering this option for the Toronto Maple Leafs, I have one question. Why would Shanahan or Dubas make Marner Captain? He is the second youngest player on the team this season (behind Matthews). He is not the main face of the franchise for marketing purposes and this would be his third season in the league.
Who should be Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
My ideal candidate would be Morgan Reilly. He is older than Marner and Matthews along with 388 games played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He fits the ‘Good Canadian Boy’ idea as he is from Vancouver. Reilly is also apart of the the newer players who did not have to live through the Toronto Maple Leafs previous playoff decimation. Giving the captaincy to Reilly would also alleviate the pressure that comes with being captain from Marner and Matthews. Reilly is also very well liked among the team from what has been made public.
Another candidate in my opinion is Jake Gardiner. Coming off what could be labeled the worst game of his career, Jake Gardiner could use a pick me up. Not only would it send the mainstream media into a whirlwind, but again it would alleviate some of the pressure on the stars. He is older and therefor more mature than Reilly, which will help when he has to stand up the the media.
The final candidate I see as a potential captain is Auston Matthews. He is the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was their number one overall pick. Their savior. He is a generational talent that will hopefully stay with the franchise for the next decade. Would you not want the Leafs to show that they are invested in him by giving him the captaincy this early. If the Toronto Maple Leafs were to give him the captaincy today, he would only the be 7th youngest captain in NHL history. Shanahan and Dubas should show their commitment to Matthews with his contract extension and the captaincy this off-season. Hopefully the potential captaincy can provide some good will in the contract negotiations.
Next: Is He the Worst GM In Leafs History?
Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments down below. If there is something you would like me to write about feel free to contact me on social media or email me at chrisinthesix@gmail.com