Announcement: Auston Matthews to be designated as captain of the Maple Leafs

Star center Auston Matthews is set to become the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to multiple media reports on Monday.

The official announcement will be made during a press conference on Wednesday, as per the reports.

Matthews will take over the captaincy from fellow center John Tavares, making him the 26th player in Maple Leafs history to hold the role. This will also be the first time an American player will serve as captain for Toronto.

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Sources say that Tavares was involved in the decision to appoint Matthews as captain and fully supports the move. Both players will be present at the press conference on Wednesday.

In the previous season, Matthews led the NHL with 69 goals and also recorded 38 assists, totaling 107 points in 81 games.

The 26-year-old has been selected to the All-Star Game seven times in his career and has accumulated 649 points (368 goals, 281 assists) in 562 games over eight seasons with the Maple Leafs. He was also named the league MVP and won the Hart Trophy at the end of the 2021-22 season, where he scored 60 goals and had 46 assists.

Matthews was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by Toronto in the 2016 draft.

Tavares, 33, was named captain of the Maple Leafs on October 2, 2019. He has been with the team for the past six seasons and recorded 65 points (29 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games during the 2023-24 campaign.

As he enters his 16th NHL season, Tavares has career totals of 456 goals and 584 assists in 1,109 games with the New York Islanders (2009-18) and Maple Leafs (2018-24). He has been selected to the All-Star Game six times.

Similar to Matthews, Tavares was also drafted as the No. 1 overall pick, with the Islanders selecting him in the 2009 draft.

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