Could John Tavares' time as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs be coming to an end?
When New York Islanders captain John Tavares left Long Island in the summer of 2018 to join his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, it seemed inevitable that he'd be named the captain at some point over his seven-year deal.
A year later, ahead of the 2019-20 season, the "C" was his after he donned an "A" for a captain-less Toronto squad in his first season.
But after being the captain for the last five seasons, with the Maple Leafs making it past the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once, it sounds like a leadership change could be in the cards.
On Monday, Sprotsnet's Nick Kypreos shared on his podcast, "Real Kyper And Bourne", that the Leafs are considering taking the 'C' away from Tavares.
"From what I’m hearing, the Leafs are contemplating taking the captaincy away from him and giving it to Auston (Matthews). They will talk about it. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but it’s real,” Kypreos said.
Tavares, who scored 29 goals with 36 assists for 65 points before a goal and assists in seven playoff games, has one year remaining on his contract worth $11 million.