Auston Matthews captaincy gives Toronto Maple Leafs a much-needed culture change

All I can say is it's about time that Auston Matthews was named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As much as I like John Tavares, it was time for a change, and he definitely knew that too.

Most people think the main issue with the current era of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the core-four, when in my opinion it's their mindset and the team's culture.

A new coach and now a brand-new captain is sure to change that, for better or for worse.

Auston Matthews taking a new role should change the Toronto Maple Leafs culture

Back in the summer of 2019, the battle to be named team captain was a three-horse race between Matthews, Tavares, and Morgan Rielly.

After an off-ice incident likely took Matthews out of the running, Tavares was ultimately chosen. I had no issue with this decision, Tavares was fresh off a career-best season and had experience as captain of the New York Islanders.

Unfortunately, now people seem to think this was the wrong decision.

With all the playoff disappointments in the last eight years, fans love pointing fingers and blaming anyone they can, and more recenlty a lot of the blame has been going towards Tavares.

Now I do not think the constant losing is one player's fault, nor do I think Tavares is a bad leader. If either of Rielly or Matthews was named captain instead of Tavares, do the Leafs win a Stanley Cup from 2019-now? We can speculate, but we will never truly know.

Naming Matthews captain isn't about taking it away from Tavares (in fact I believe Tavares more than likely had a say in giving it up to Matthews), it's about finding a new leader and changing the team's culture.

If the Leafs aren't going to move one of their big-name players, changing their culture is one way to shake things up.

Hiring coach Craig Berube was a good start, and naming a new captain is another good way to change the team's culture.

More of a vocal leader like Matthews will obviously have a different affect on the team, as opposed to Tavares, who was more of a "lead by example" guy. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, but a change was definitely needed.

While there is almost no way this move can backfire, only time will tell if Matthews is capable of captaining a team to a Stanley Cup.