Update on Leafs captaincy plan from TSN insider Gord Miller

According to a report from TSN insider Darren Dreger, the Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly stripping captain John Tavares of the captaincy and are handing it over to superstar forward Auston Matthews.

From Dreger:

Now Dreger's TSN colleague Gord Miller is reporting that the Leafs aren't so much "stripping" Tavares of the "C" but more that they've worked with Tavares to pass along the captaincy to Matthews. Miller makes it sound like this is something that Tavares is supportive of and is working alongside the team without argument.

From Miller:

If this is the case, I don't suspect there will be much friction between Tavares and Matthews, but you never know. We've seen situations like this before and it doesn't always work out the way that Miller has presented. While Millers example of Lee Fogolin passing on the captaincy to Wayne Gretzky is apt... there was only one Gretzky. Literally everyone in the world knew that Gretzky should be the Oilers' captain, it was a no-brainer decision. I wouldn't put Tavares/Matthews on that same level...

What's interesting to me is that the Leafs are making this move well ahead of training camp and pre-season so that the story doesn't dominate their early season. Presumably, Tavares and Matthews are both on vacation and are unavailable to the media right now, so what better time to drop this news?

Tavares has come under a lot of heat from Leafs fans in recent seasons due in large part to his onerous contract. Tavares's monster seven year, $77 million contract expires next offseason but in the meantime the Leafs are on the hook for a whopping $11 million salary cap hit. While he's a good player, he's not worth near what he's being paid. Matthews may have a higher priced ticket but he's the best goal scorer in the NHL and a perennial Hart Trophy threat. To me it makes perfect sense for the team to choose Matthews as their next captain, I'm just surprised that they're doing it a season earlier than expected.

Standby for more on this developing story.