Rick Zamperin: Tavares, not Matthews, should be next Maple Leafs captain – Hamilton

Now that all the hype surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs' signing of the popular recreation center John Tavares has calmed down, at least a little, we can delve deeper into what the Team will look like when it hits the ice.

Toronto has an embarrbadment of riches in the center with Tavares, Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri and a mix of speed, skill and defensive reliability with wingers Mitch Marner, Patrick Marleau, William Nylander and Zach Hyman.

Add reliable Connor Brown, speedster Kasperi Kapanen, AHL MVP Andreas Johnsson and Swedish center Par Lindholm recently acquired and head coach Mike Babbad has plenty of options ahead line that he can deploy ] John Tavares signs a 7-year contract with Maple Leafs, a $ 77-million contract

Babbad will not have to think long about how the team should line up, but when it does not go away is knowing which player will be the captain of the club, Take a little more time than the general manager Kyle Dubas suggested at the press conference of Tavares on the occasion of Canada Day [19659002] Toronto has been deprived of captaincy since the team traded defenseman Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators in 2016.

It would have been easy to give Tavares the "C" after they had been defeated. he has been captain of the New York Islanders for the past five seasons. But the Leafs are going in the right direction

John Tavares says that becoming a Leafs captain never came into negotiations

Dubas said, "This is certainly not a decision of any kind. We want to see how the group works together and then, over time, we will evaluate where we are and if there is a player in our group who thinks that he deserves to be the captain of the team, we will make that decision then. "

When that time comes, probably next summer, Tavares should be the choice. He will be 28 years old, will have a season under his belt in Toronto and will have won the confidence and admiration of his teammates.

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And what is there to love? Tavares is one of the most respected players in the league. He is an Olympic gold medalist, a play point guy, and a boy from the hometown to boot. And what could be the coup de grace, it's that he made the decision to play in Toronto

Matthews and defender Morgan Reilly are the only other Maple Leafs who should be considered captain of & # 39; Team, but do they want it? ] Take It Our Poll

It's not just about writing the letter "C" on your jersey, especially not in Toronto, where fans and media can appeal to the best players, including including captains.

Tavares will have a glimpse of the life of a maple leaf in a few months, and I have every confidence in the fact that he will be able to handle the pressure that l & # 39; 39; accompanies.

He already has the experience of being a captain and he can be the guy until his contract ends when he is 34 years old. At that time, Matthews will turn 27 and enter the prime of life, the perfect time for Tavares to pbad the torch.