To open the season the Toronto Maple Leafs named John Tavares as the 25th captain in franchise history. To many it seemed a clear choice, he has the experience, the leadership qualities, and the talent. As for others, it seems that Auston Matthews was headed for the captaincy. At least until word of his antics over the summer made it to the press. He found himself being charged in Scottsdale Arizona in May for disorderly conduct.
Auston Matthews and the Leafs
Tavares History
John Tavares was drafted #1 overall in 2009 by the New York Islanders. He played his first 9 seasons and served as captain for 5 of them in Long Island. In his tenure with the Islanders he had 526 points (222g, 304a). However, he ended up leaving New York on bad terms. He had made it clear re-signing with the team was an option. So, this caused them to not move him at the trade deadline. When his choice to sign with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs became public, naturally many Islanders were upset.
In his first season with Toronto, he played very well, putting up 47 goals and 41 assists. After being named captain in the season opener against the Ottawa Senators, he played 8 games scoring 3 goals and 4 assists. On October 16th in a 3-4 loss against the Washington Capitals, he broke a finger. It was announced that Saturday that he will miss at least 2 weeks. Meaning Auston Matthews will be called upon to fill that roll on the top line.
Auston Matthews Young Career
Auston Matthews was drafted #1 overall by Toronto in 2016’s NHL entry draft. He played for Team North America in the 2016 World Cup. He started his NHL career with a bang scoring 4 goals in his debut against the Senators. His first 3 full seasons in the league have gone just about as well as anyone could possibly hope for. Scoring 111 goals and 96 assists and has started the 2019-20 season off incredibly strong with a total of 7 goals and 2 assists in 9 games.
Comparing their first 3 seasons in the league to each other is an easy enough task if you look strictly at points. They are nearly identical in total points with Matthews having 207 total points and Tavares having 202 total points in his first 3 seasons. Matthews made his points fairly evenly with 111 goals and 96 assists. Tavares totals leaned a little more in the assist category. He scored 84 goals which are nothing to scoff at but he had 118 assists in that period.
The comparisons of the first 3 seasons is a fair one, we can also compare the 3 seasons they have shared in the league. Matthews’s totals won’t change with his 111 goals and 96 assists. With his time in the league being significantly higher than his counterpart they have almost identical goal totals with Tavares only scoring 1 more goal in that time than Matthews, but he put up 30 more assists in that time.
The Controversy
The choice to name Tavares as captain seemed like it was made over the summer and just announced on opening night as a marketing scheme. But Matthews did seem like he was headed for the role of team leader up until the news over the summer was made public. The charges in and of itself is not as bad as it could have been. More of a drunken young man making a stupid choice than malicious intent. His choice to keep the information to himself instead of giving the team a heads up and a chance to get in front of it was a big part of the mistake.
The trend of naming young men as captains have been growing. Sidney Crosby who has often been called “The Next One” in homage to Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky was named the captain of his Pittsburgh Penguins in just his 3rd year and at the age of 21. Connor McDavid echo is widely regarded as one of the top 2 hockey players in the world was named the captain of the Edmonton Oilers in just his second season in the league at the age of 19, taking the title of youngest captain in NHL history away from Crosby.
It looked like Matthews was going to become one of the youngest captains in the league at 22. Tavares is not a bad choice by any means, he seems to have been a clear choice. But if Matthews had handled his situation better, it may have been a different story.
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