GM Brad Treliving reveals why the Maple Leafs didn't wait to announce the captaincy change until training camp
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke with the media this week after naming Auston Matthews the team's new captain, revealing why they didn't wait until training camp to make the official announcement.
Typically, when teams establish that there will be a captaincy change in their city, whether it be because a player leaves or a new coach comes in and wants to shake up the leadership group, like we saw with Rick Bowness in Winnipeg, a new captain isn't named until much closer to training camp or even deep into camp, when the true leaders emerge.
The Leafs handled things much differently this summer, establishing back in May and June that Tavares would eventually hand the captaincy off to Auston Matthews, which he did on Wednesday of this past week.
Following Wednesday's Maple Leafs press conference, Brad Treliving spoke with TSN 1050's OverDrive crew, confirming that the timing of this announcement was very important to the team, as they wanted the focus in training camp to be about the work and preparation rather than on a captaincy change.
Once you've made the decision, once everyone is comfortable, we wanted it outside of camp because 'let's deal with this now and it'll be a story for a little bit', but once we get into camp, we can get on with the business at hand."
Avoiding a distraction during a time on the calendar when preparation should be the only focus was certainly a wise decision by the veteran GM. Treliving also revealed that it had taken some time for the whole thing to come together, even though Tavares and Matthews were both aware of the change for quite some time ahead of when the actual announcement was made.
Tavares had a bit of a down year for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24, producing just 29 goals and 65 points across 80 games. It's safe to say that a bounce-back year is high on everyone's wish list for the former Leafs captain.
Treliving has confirmed that Tavares will absolutely be wearing an "A" this season, but neither he nor Tavares would discuss where things are at with his contract negotiations. Tavares has one year remaining on the 7-year, $77M that he signed back in July of 2018.
Source for stats: NHL.com
John Tavares player profile
| POLL | ||
AOUT 18 | 1830 ANSWERS GM Brad Treliving reveals why the Maple Leafs didn't wait to announce the captaincy change until training camp When would have been the best time for the Leafs to announce Auston Matthews' captaincy? | ||
| When they did it was perfect | 1395 | 76.2 % |
| Training camp | 158 | 8.6 % |
| Matthews' first pre-season appearance | 46 | 2.5 % |
| At the home opener | 231 | 12.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
