Auston Matthews Evolution Makes him an easy choice for Captain
Auston Matthews is the man. Not only does he know that he's the man, but so does John Tavares, which is why he appointed him as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For the last eight years, Matthews has not only scored more goals than anyone else in the NHL, but he's been one of the best all-round players in the game.
Matthews has a Hart Trophy and scored 69 goals last year. The only thing missing in the evolution of his career was being named as the captain of this team.
When you score almost 70 goals in an NHL season, you're naturally going to be the leader. Everyone in the Leafs dressing room, as well as every fan in the world, knew that this team only went as far as he took them and naming him captain was the easiest decision this organization could have made.
Auston Matthews Evolution Makes him an easy choice for Captain
Back in October, 2019, when Tavares as initially named captain of this team, nobody knew a pandemic was coming and nobody saw the future of this franchise. Matthews was a world-class player, but he'd only had one 40 goal season and had yet to be a Rocket Richard Trophy or Hart Trophy winner.
Fast-forward five years and Matthews is now a top-three player in the world and the favorite to win the Rocket Richard Trophy every year. Not only is he the favorite to win the award as the league's best goal-scorer, but he's also a top candidate to win NHL MVP and that title alone should appoint him captain.
Tavares is entering a weird stage in his career with the Leafs and if both parties agree on the right dollar amount, it's safe to say that he can play here as long as he wants. He's still a fantastic player and is actually aging like fine wine, if you ask me.
Not only has Matthews lived up to his contract, but it''s widely considered one of, if not the best contracts in hockey. Sure, we wish it was longer, but on a dollar for dollar basis, almost no NHL player provides more value.
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Matthews deserves to the be the captain of this team and if you thought his 69 goal season last year was special, I have a crazy feeling that he's going to knotch that up even further next year. Don't be shocked if Matthews is once again in the conversation for the Hart Trophy, but even more importantly, expect the entire Leafs team to get a bump this season, as the team will finally be a real threat for the Stanley Cup.