The Toronto Maple Leafs Have a Captain on Every Line

As the architect of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s not likely that Kyle Dubas had it in mind but he built a club that can feature a captain on every line.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs take the ice for the first time in 2021, they will feature a very special lineup. Their roster is stacked with former captains, which allows them to very likely play games with a captain on each of their four forward lines.

General manager Kyle Dubas was criticized for the composition of last year’s team. The internet was rife with ideas on how to address the Leafs problems and take them beyond the obstacles keeping them from progressing beyond the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. One thing that has never been in question is the collection of dressing room leaders. Over this offseason, that has only improved.

As much leadership that the franchise has, only one player can be the official captain. Ahead of the 2019-20 season, John Tavares was given that title. He became and remains the 25th captain in Maple Leafs history. It was a move that some saw coming while others were surprised that the clues they saw online didn’t lead to Auston Matthews getting the ‘C’.

When Matthews didn’t get the nod, the Maple Leafs conspiracy theorists believed that the plan was to make him the captain. They say that the plan changed when the news broke that he had been charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was later dismissed. We will get back to Matthews shortly.

Joe Thornton

Over the offseason, Dubas signed a hockey legend to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He recruited the long-time NHL captain, Joe Thornton. Jumbo was handed the captaincy of the Boston Bruins prior to the 2002-03 season. That reign lasted until 2006 when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for three players.

Thornton’s next opportunity to wear a ‘C’ in the NHL came in 2009 as the captain of the Western Conference All-Star Team. Then, ahead of the 2010-11 season, he became the captain of a second team, the San Jose Sharks. Thornton was trusted with the leadership position for the Sharks until it was stripped away by his head coach, Todd McLellan, in August of 2014.

Jason Spezza

There were very high expectations of Jason Spezza when he became the second overall selection (Ilya Kovalchuk went first-overall to the Atlanta Thrashers) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He did not disappoint. Spezza has had an incredible career, which all started with the team that plucked him out of that draft, the Ottawa Senators.

When Daniel Alfredsson left the Senators to join the Detroit Red Wings via free agency, Spezza was chosen as the perfect choice to replace him as team captain. On Sep. 14, 2013, the Sens made it official and named Spezza the eighth captain in franchise history. At the end of that season, it was revealed that he had requested a trade out of Ottawa. That offseason, Spezza got his wish and was shipped to the Dallas Stars. Jamie Benn was the captain in Dallas throughout Spezza’s time there.

Captains in the Front Office

The players aren’t the only ones with pedigree. Right at the organization’s top, there sits a man who has worn many jerseys with a ‘C’ sewen onto its chest. Despite some of the Maple Leafs President, Brendan Shanahan’s past antics, he was seen as a leader over the course of his NHL playing career.

When Shanahan was traded to the Hartford Whalers, the organization saw him as the player they needed to elevate their place in the standings. Even though he played just one full season in Hartford, he did it as the team’s captain.

Shanahan also had the responsibility of being captain of a couple more notable teams. When he was named to his eighth All-Star Team in 2007, there was something a little different about that experience. This time, Shanahan was a captain for the yearly exhibition game. He led his Eastern Conference All-Star squad to a loss against the Joe Sakic led Western Conference.

In international play, Shanahan once again had the opportunity to be the team captain. In 2006, he led Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship. That group lost their bronze medal game to Finland, giving them a fourth-place finish.

The Maple Leafs’ bench boss was also a captain once. It was because of this position that Sheldon Keefe’s snubbing of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) commissioner David Branch is still remembered. Keefe was the Captain of the Barrie Colts when he refused to shake hands with Branch after winning the 1999–2000 OHL championship. It goes to show that the actions don’t just matter but get cemented in history.

John Tavares

The Leafs weren’t the first to name Tavares a captain. That distinction belongs to the New York Islanders. They were fortunate enough to benefit from the terrible play that put them in last place in the 2008-09 season, allowing them to draft Tavares with the first-overall pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

In September of 2013, after a year where he was a Hart Trophy Finalist, the Islanders trusted Tavares to be their captain. Taking over for Mark Streit, who was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, Tavares became the 14th captain in Islanders’ franchise history.

Auston Matthews

As already detailed, Matthews didn’t become the captain of the Leafs but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t had the role while playing on NHL ice. In December of 2018, NHL fans decided that Captain Matthews had a nice ring to it.

Hockey fans were trusted with the power to determine who would not just participate in the 2019 All-Star festivities but also who would captain each team. Matthews was elected as the Atlantic Division captain for All-Star Game.

Alex Kerfoot and Jimmy Vesey

There are others on the Toronto Maple Leafs who have had the distinction of being named a captain of their team. Jimmy Vesey and Alex Kerfoot are among them. They were both captains of their NCAA team, Harvard Crimson.

Not only did both players hold the role but Kerfoot earned it when Vesey vacated the position to join the New York Rangers. Kerfoot was actually a co-captain along with his teammate, Devin Tringale.

Jake Muzzin

Reaching all the way back to his time playing Major Junior hockey in the OHL, we can find another former captain on the Maple Leafs. In Jake Muzzin’s final season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he was honoured by being named team captain.

Muzzin had a great season. As an overage player that year, he won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenceman. His strong play was what led him to earn an NHL contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

A Captain on Every Line

It’s unclear right now what the lines will look like for Keefe. It’s almost certain that Spezza and Thornton won’t play together. There’s a good chance that they will each center one of the bottom two lines.

This leaves Tavares to cover one of the top two lines. Simple math tells us that it places a captain on three of the Toronto Maple Leafs four forward lines. In order to count that one remaining line to have a position filled by a captain, we accept Matthew’s role in the 2019 All-Star Game. It was still the NHL after all.

Sprinkle in Kerfoot and Vesey for good measure and add Muzzin’s experience to the blueline just to round things out. Thinking of the Leafs in this way is enough to make the most cynical Leafs fans excited for the upcoming season.

A closer look at what the line composition may look like will show exactly how the wealth of captaincy is spread. The top line may include Zach Hyman, Matthews, and William Nylander. We already know about Matthews’s history but it’s worth noting that Hyman was the captain of the Hamilton Red Wings, his junior team in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

Toronto’s other top-line would then likely feature Ilya Mikheyev, Tavares, and Mitch Marner. While we are already well aware of Tavares’s history, it’s important to note that in October of 2015, Marner was named a co-captain of the London Knights in the OHL. Marner’s teammate, Christian Dvorak, shared the duties with him.

The third line may feature Kerfoot playing with Thornton and Wayne Simmonds. That would likely set up the fourth line to mean Spezza plays with Vesey and Alexander Barabanov on his wings.