Auston Matthews is still wearing the Maple Leafs captaincy this week, and around the league right now, that alone stands out.
A post from Leafslatest making the rounds this week points out just how rare Matthews' situation has become.
Connor Hellebuyck, Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes have all pushed to leave Canadian markets over the past year.
Dylan Larkin, J.T. Miller, Alex DeBrincat and Noah Hanifin have either left already or made it known they wanted out.
Quinn Hughes was actually traded to Minnesota partway through last season, one of the more stunning moves of the year.
Miller landed with the Rangers after his own messy exit from Vancouver, a saga that's still generating headlines.
Matthews, meanwhile, remains the American captain of the biggest and most scrutinized Canadian market there is.
"With what feels like all of Team USA's gold medal winning Olympic team requesting trades in recent months, we really need to appreciate Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews' loyalty to Toronto
Connor Hellebuyck, Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes have all wanted out of Canadian markets, while guys like Dylan Larkin, J.T. Miller, Alex DeBrincat and Noah Hanifin have also left or are trying to leave situations where they wanted a change..
Through all the craziness, one American captain remains in the biggest and most pressure filled Canadian market
Auston Matthews ????"
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Matthews remains standing as stars continue abandoning Canadian teams
That's not nothing. Toronto is a market that chews up stars who so much as hint at frustration.
Mitch Marner is gone from the Leafs roster entirely, another departure that fits the same pattern building around Matthews.
Matthews posted 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points last season, in 60 games, still producing at a near point-per-game pace.
The Leafs finished 32-36-14 a year ago, a rough stretch that included a seven-game losing streak to close the season.
Toronto brought in Jim Hiller as head coach this summer, a fresh voice after a season that unraveled down the stretch.
Loyalty is a strange currency in this league. It's worth plenty until the losing piles up too high for too long, and then it evaporates fast.
Matthews carries a $13,250,000 cap hit, the kind of number that raises the stakes on every quiet season in Toronto.
So far, he hasn't blinked. No trade rumors, no public frustration, no hints of wanting out, even as teammates around him have come and gone.
Compare that to a captain who keeps showing up to work while the roster around him gets rebuilt in real time.
Whether that holds if Hiller's group struggles again is the real question nobody in Toronto can answer yet.
Would Auston Matthews still be this loyal if the Leafs miss the playoffs again?
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