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Ex-Leafs captain Rick Vaive hints at John Tavares' true feelings about passing captaincy to Auston Matthews

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Dean Chaudhry
August 24, 2024 (9:26)

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Toronto Maple Leafs' forward John Tavares skating through the neutral zone during a home matchup at the Scotiabank Arena.

Photo credit: Dan Hamilton - USA Today Sports

Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rick Vaive hinted this week that John Tavares may not have been fully on board with handing over the captaincy to Auston Matthews.

Just under two weeks ago, the Maple Leafs shocked the hockey world when they announced that John Tavares would no longer be captain of the Leafs, and that he would be passing the "C" along to franchise cornerstone Auston Matthews ahead of the 2024-25 season.

While it was always expected that Matthews was going to be the next captain of the Maple Leafs, the timing was never known. The belief was that as long as Tavares was still with the club, he would retain his rights as the team's captain - as is usually the case around the NHL as well. When news broke out earlier this month that he would be relinquishing the captaincy over to Matthews, it shocked many and rightfully so.

Former Maple Leafs legend, Rick Vaive, joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on their Leafs Nation podcast "Leafs Morning Take" this week and discussed a variety of topics, including the idea that Tavares might not have been as on board with the move as many originally claimed. Vaive does have a close relationship with Tavares so his insight is better than most:

"I think he's handled it very well, now was it his choice, you know nobody really knows -- and I know Johnny pretty good and he's a good person, he works his tail off, my son played with him for 3 years with the Marlies in the GTHL, so I know him very well -- was it his choice? Or was it kind of like 'what are you planning on next year? Do you wanna be back here and if you are...' You know, who knows? It's one of those things, but Johnny will be professional about it, there's no question."

Vaive brings up a very good point in that Tavares' future standing with the club probably had a lot to do with the decision. As we enter the 2024-25 season, Tavares will be playing on an expiring contract and handing off the captaincy one year earlier could also be seen as a strategic move for both sides to close the gap on a potential contract extension. The Leafs get a new captain and Tavares gets to come back on a new contract with a reduced rate and have the opportunity to retire as a Leaf. Seems like a win-win.

Source: Leafs Morning TakeRick Vaive Dishes On Auston Matthews Replacing John Tavares As Team Captain

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

Doug Gilmour opens up about disrespectful treatment in Calgary, leading to 1992 trade to the Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving asleep at the wheel, misses out on adding elite young goalie

August 23rd marks a very special day for newly minted Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews

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24 AOUT \| 697 ANSWERS Ex-Leafs captain Rick Vaive hints at John Tavares' true feelings about passing captaincy to Auston Matthews Will the pressures of being the captain going away this season, will John Tavares be more productive on the ice?
Yes, he could be in line for a career-year	450	64.6 %
No, he's still under a ton of pressure in Year 7	247	35.4 %
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