Who is Ready To Be The 25th Captain of The Historic Maple Leafs?

I’ll never forget sitting in my living room and watching as Mats Sundin - Captain Of the Toronto Maple Leafs came bombing down the ice, winding up, and ripping the puck top right cheese on Kippersoff to win the game in overtime against the Calgary Flames for his 500th goal. Leafs nation knew they had a captain that was a class act and class talent. But even though we had Mats with maybe one of the best wraparounds in a league we were a franchise that was not headed for success anytime soon. Fast forward through all the pain, heartache and flat-out stupidity (*cough* John Ferguson Jr. *cough*) we finally find ourselves in a position of strength. With the likes of Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander as our new core, we find ourselves without a standout leader. We have something better.. Leafs nation has got a great problem on their hands… its that all their high skilled players could easily make a case for the captaincy.

 When we look at some of the more obvious choices it probably comes down to these three: Tavares, Matthews, and Rielly. According to NHL.com and other major hockey outlets, it seems to be leaning towards Tavares, but is this beat option for the Maple Leafs organization? Well, let's look at some facts. Tavares is a proven leader, he put up his best season with the Maple Leafs and his a homegrown talent. Let's also not forget that he left his former organization to come here and win a cup with young guns acquired through draft. So does he have the requirements to be our captain for the next 6 years? Well, the answer is a little bit more complicated than just a yes or a no because of Matthews. Matthews has been a superstar since he entered the league. Outside of recent trouble, which come on leaf fans, is ridiculous, he’s been squeaky clean. He has shown time and time again that he has a personality, like when he went head to head with Patrick Kane doing outstanding goal celebrations, or when he posed for GQ. As soon as his rookie season was over he was allowed to speak to the media day after day and he handled himself well. Never did he put the franchise at risk (all at the age of 20 minds you). Matthews is, and that is an emphasis on “is” - the face of the franchise. So who really deserves to be captain? That is totally up to Mike Babcock’s style of player. It's going to come down to whether they want someone with a big personality or someone who is essentially a robot to the media. Well, Toronto we all know what happened when the last robot came to Toronto… he won a national championship with the Toronto Raptors. When it comes down to it, I think Tavares will get the captaincy but either way, this team has a rock-solid leadership group and we have a real shot this year, all of leafs nation should be excited about this upcoming season!