John Tavares reveals why he surrendered Leafs captaincy

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced an eyebrow-raising change in their leadership this week, as the captaincy was taken from John Tavares and awarded to goal scoring forward Auston Matthews; the American-born native of Arizona will take over as the 26th captain in team history starting this upcoming season. 

Tavares, who is entering the final year of the seven-year contract that he signed with the team since being lured from the New York Islanders in 2018, had served as captain of the team starting in the 2019-20 campaign. But under his leadership, the Leafs have experienced multiple first round postseason exits while making it to Round 2 on only a single occasion.

While speaking at the press conference earlier this morning the Leafs held to announce the change in leadership, Tavares explained why he voluntarily surrendered the captaincy to his teammate, saying that it was his time to assume the leadership role: 

“When Brad Treliving and I met at the end of this past season and discussed ways for our team to take the next step, we both agreed that Auston is ready and it’s his time to lead,” Tavares said in a team release. “It’s been an incredible honour to serve as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs these past five seasons. Looking forward, I will do everything to support Auston as we continue our pursuit of the Stanley Cup.” 

Meanwhile, Tavares' family was in attendance at the event decked out in Matthews sweaters as a show of unity: 

Recommended articles:

• Ryan O’Reilly throws shade at ex-Leafs teammates
• Breaking: Leafs are stripping the captaincy away from John Tavares this week
• Maple Leafs linked to NHL's “most punchable face”
• Bruce Boudreau reacts to Leafs offseason
• Maple Leafs writer suggests ideal reclamation project target