News Article: Matthews ready to be captain

[Daisy Jane]

in all honesty, i think the best thing for all parties, is go captainless this year, name Tavares for years 2 through 7, name Matthews captain after that.

 

[HEAVY DUTY]

tavares will be captain. mark my words.

plus it makes sense to name tavares captain. he's older and mature and can handle the pressure. this protects matthews during his youth years who will probably wear an 'A'. once tavares' contract is up, matthews will be 27/28 yrs old and then he can take over as captain.

 

[Havoc]

Matthews with a couple snipes in this one for those craving some hockey highlights.

 

[CanadasTeam]

Looks good with a C. I get the feeling he'll keep the beard as well (at least during camp/preseason)

 

[indigobuffalo]

Terrible idea.

Matthews hasn’t been signed. Tavares has.

If you give Matthews the ‘C’ over Tavares, you immediately declare Matthews is “more valuable” and you can’t argue he gets a lower contract.

Some of you may think Matthews is worth more, and maybe he is, but you don’t want to play poker with your cards facing out.

So from a strategic POV, you pretty much have to not give Matthews the ‘C’.

If you HAD to name someone this season, I would pick Marleau.

He’s gone soon, by then Matthews is signed, you’ve gotten a look at Tavares and Matthews and how they handle the room, and who is better suited for the role. Plus no one is gonna be upset that Marleau is named captain because it’s temporary.

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Terrible idea.

Matthews hasn’t been signed. Tavares has.

If you give Matthews the ‘C’ over Tavares, you immediately declare Matthews is “more valuable” and you can’t argue he gets a lower contract.

Some of you may think Matthews is worth more, and maybe he is, but you don’t want to play poker with your cards facing out.

So from a strategic POV, you pretty much have to not give Matthews the ‘C’.

If you HAD to name someone this season, I would pick Marleau.

He’s gone soon, by then Matthews is signed, you’ve gotten a look at Tavares and Matthews and how they handle the room, and who is better suited for the role. Plus no one is gonna be upset that Marleau is named captain because it’s temporary.

Dont overthink too much

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

in all honesty, i think the best thing for all parties, is go captainless this year, name Tavares for years 2 through 7, name Matthews captain after that.

Yup sounds about right. Matthew's will still be young enough anyway.

 

[Liminality]

Matthews with a couple snipes in this one for those craving some hockey highlights.

You got to feel bad for these goalies in these type of games.

Was nice seeing Matthews with Parise. Think of that pairing!

 

[indigobuffalo]

Dont overthink too much

I can assure you these are the things you have to thoroughly think out when in the role of GM.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

tavares will be captain. mark my words.

plus it makes sense to name tavares captain. he's older and mature and can handle the pressure. this protects matthews during his youth years who will probably wear an 'A'. once tavares' contract is up, matthews will be 27/28 yrs old and then he can take over as captain.

Is he this team's McDavid or not? Why play these games? Matthews isn't a fragile flower. He's the face of the franchise, not Tavares. Give Tavares an A and watch him thrive.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Call me weird, but my vote is to have no captain.

Not trying to be all counter-culture here, but I'm not sure I see the point. We have 3-5 guys who could be captain for various reasons, so it's not like we are short on leadership. I don't see what there is to be gained other than adding a bunch of pressure and attention to one guy.

 

[hector morrison]

I agree with Matthews being Captain if he signs...If waiting for him to sign ,then Marleau would be a respectful choice for this year based on tenure.
If its Johnny T ,that would be ok as well,but then Auston wouldn't get it for quite a few years in that case.
Both lead by example on the ice,both handle the media fairly well,I actually think Auston is mature beyond his years in that regard. However,not sure if either one leads in the room or has the respect factor needed to rally the troops.Maybe they give it to Morgan!

 

[34]

If Matthews signs his 8 year extension before the season starts, give him the C. If not wait.

I have a feeling they will go without a Captain this season.

 

[Go4soda]

I’m on board with no captain.
Some say Marleau, and he makes a good c, but doing a short term captain doesn’t seem like something the leafs are interested in. This organization takes captaincy seriously. And it’s usually a choice made with the long term in mind.
I think the team now has a good leadership ‘group’ and there’s no need to force a ‘c’ upon any one of our leaders just for the sake of it. Imo, let the process breathe and see who imerges organically.

 

[thewave]

JT is the best choice for captain now. AM is the next one.

 

[nsleaf]

I say let the "new" roster get some real game playing time together first. There will be several new names in the line-up and it may be a good idea to let them all play, travel and bond for awhile before naming a captain.
Leaders tend to eventually rise to the top of any group. Matthews is mature beyond his age for sure but JT's experience as a captain is certainly something to consider as well.

 

[JadedLeaf]

I don't care who it is, just as long as it's a long term captain.

 

[thewave]

I don't care who it is, just as long as it's a long term captain.

Toronto boy comes home leads team to Cup victory. That headline is why JT will be the Captain. Well that and he is the most qualified on every level to be the Captain.

 

[robertmac43]

This is Matthews team and he should become captain at some point, sooner than later imo.

 

[Menzinger]

Honestly I don’t care all that much about it, I think it’s mostly relevant for the fans/PR stuff. Leaders will lead in the dressing room regardless of what letter is on their jersey.

From an optic’s perspective though I suppose I’d like Matthews to get it, he represents the face of the new era Leafs is he best player on the team (or will be after this season). And I also don’t want him to feel alienated with JT coming here. But I don’t really have a strong preference either way

 

[thewave]

Honestly I don’t care all that much about it, I think it’s mostly relevant for the fans/PR stuff. Leaders will lead in the dressing room regardless of what letter is on their jersey.

From an optic’s perspective though I suppose I’d like Matthews to get it, he represents the face of the new era Leafs is he best player on the team (or will be after this season). And I also don’t want him to feel alienated with JT coming here. But I don’t really have a strong preference either way

Mention of that C was possibly if not likely slipped into off the record negotiations for the Leafs when we got him. For the kid that's coming home to live a dream, that C may very well part of it and it's not like he bloody well doesn't deserve it. I am pretty confident JT with be Captain.

 

[Coachcorner]

The Legendary Maple Leafs should still just do it already. Our team the best and most richest team in the world should ALWAYS have a Captain. Just like Mats Sundin and all. Gilmour and all. They big time baby. Now is others time at last like etta james did hers. Y'all better recognize.

 

[supermann_98]

Toronto boy comes home leads team to Cup victory. That headline is why JT will be the Captain. Well that and he is the most qualified on every level to be the Captain.

Except that not a single player on the team other than maybe Kadri even knows him personally or has played a single shift with him.
How do you name him a captain until hes battled in the trenches with the rest of the boys on the team and has earned it?

I wait a year and let the captaincy decide itself. The only caveat is if Matthews signs an under market deal, like say 9.5-10m for 8 years.
If he's willing to take that big of a haircut to show his team what it takes to sacrifice for the ultimate goal (a cup or 3) then I name him a captain immediately.

 

[thewave]

Except that not a single player on the team other than maybe Kadri even knows him personally or has played a single shift with him.
How do you name him a captain until hes battled in the trenches with the rest of the boys on the team and has earned it?

I wait a year and let the captaincy decide itself. The only caveat is if Matthews signs an under market deal, like say 9.5-10m for 8 years.
If he's willing to take that big of a haircut to show his team what it takes to sacrifice for the ultimate goal (a cup or 3) then I name him a captain immediately.

How long did it take to promote Dion? I think it will be that quick and spurred on by Babcock and good pro philosophy, being a Man not a boy and all that Babcockian stuff.

 

[supermann_98]

How long did it take to promote Dion? I think it will be that quick and spurred on by Babcock and good pro philosophy, being a Man not a boy and all that Babcockian stuff.

You have a good point but that was also Burkie running the show, and also if you look at that Phaneuf team it was a bunch of scrubs and cast-offs. There wasn't exactly 2 or 3 good candidates to choose from like there is now.

If we're going by Babcock's gud-pro philosophy Hyman would've already been named captain, lol