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Expect Toronto Maple Leafs To Name John Tavares Captain Tonight

By James Tanner

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 7: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on January 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 7: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on January 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are still without a captain.

But that should change in a few hours, as coach Mike Babcock has said the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a captain when the season kicks off tonight.

And that captain will be John Tavares.

It is the obvious choice, the correct choice, and really, the only choice.

Of the core players, he’s the oldest, he’s been  captain before, and since he powers down when he isn’t at the rink, there’s no chance he’ll ever get arrested.

Tavares will be the 18th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history, taking over for Dion Phaneuf, who held the job for six seasons.

I do suppose there’s always the chance that I am wrong, and that the Leafs name someone else, but I’d be absolutely shocked if it was anyone else.

Leafs vs Senators

The Leafs will ironically kick the season off the NHL season by playing an AHL team!

The Senators are in the midst of a rebuild and have – at most – three players who could make the Leafs roster.  That’s not a bad thing though – just a few years ago the Leafs were in the exact same position.

The Senators have Brady Tkachuk and Tomas Chabot, giving them two excellent core pieces.

Colin White, Drake Batherson and Erik Brannstrom give them three more really solid, potential core pieces.  The rebuild is going swimmingly, and the Senators have five picks in the first two rounds of next year’s NHL Entry Draft.

They’ve also got a real shot at Alexis Lafreniere, so maybe winning games this year isn’t in their best interest.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been there, and now all they want to do is win. They aren’t going to go 82-0, but expectations are sky high.

Unless the Leafs a heartbreaker on their way, no one is going to be satisfied with anything less than a Stanley Cup next June.

The Leafs have made a lot of progress over the last several years, and I personally find it frustrating how results oriented all the dialogue surrounding the team is.  I realize losing in the first round three times in a row is annoying, but I also think that really obscures what has been an amazing amount of progress.

Virtually everyone (but me you can look it up) said it would be a five year rebuild, and technically, that would mean there’s another year to go.

Your 2020 Toronto Maple Leafs GUARANTEES. dark. Next

There isn’t any shame in losing to the Boston Bruins – especially in game seven, and especially when you deserved to win –  as for the last three years, they are probably the NHL’s best team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to take that title, starting tonight.

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