The Toronto Maple Leafs have worked tirelessly for decades to overcome their Stanley Cup drought. Not wasting any time to make big moves, they acquired the rights to defenseman Chris Tanev from the Dallas Stars before signing him to a 6-year contract.
Yet, it appears that Toronto's lineup may change more than just seeing a few new faces. According to NHL Insider Nick Kypreos, John Tavares is at risk of losing his captaincy to fellow Core 4 member Auston Matthews.
John Tavares, now 33, recorded a respectable 29 goals and 36 assists in the 2023-24 regular season over 80 total games. However, Matthews was the top goal-scorer by 12 above Florid Panthers forward Sam Reinhart, collecting 69 over 81 games. Provided his additional 38 assists, it is hard to argue that the 26-year-old forward would not be fit for the job.
Though nothing is set in stone, it is only a matter of time before Auston Matthews would be up to the leading role. However, with John Tavares still producing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it may be another season before his captaincy is transferred.
POLL | ||
JUILLET 1 | 133 ANSWERS John Tavares at risk of losing captaincy of Toronto Maple Leafs Should the Toronto Maple Leafs replace John Tavares as captain? | ||
Yes, for Auston Matthews | 46 | 34.6 % |
Yes, but not for Matthews | 26 | 19.5 % |
No | 61 | 45.9 % |
LIST OF POLLS |
G | A | PTS | ||
Taylor Hall | 3 | - | 3 | |
Brayden Point | 3 | - | 3 | |
Brock Nelson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Bryan Rust | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Pavel Zacha | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Quinn Hughes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Carter Verhaeghe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
Erik Karlsson | - | 3 | 3 | |
Elias Lindholm | - | 3 | 3 | |
David Pastrnak | - | 3 | 3 | |
Tim Stutzle | - | 3 | 3 | |
Adam Gaudette | 2 | - | 2 | |
Dylan Holloway | 2 | - | 2 | |
Brad Marchand | 2 | - | 2 | |
Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Sean Couturier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jack Drury | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 23 | 18 | 5 | - | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 33 | |
Wild | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | |
Devils | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 32 | |
Capitals | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | |
Golden Knights | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 31 | |
Maple Leafs | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | |
Panthers | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 27 | |
Kings | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
Conference | Cumulative |