Maple Leafs may also have some new alternate captains in 2024-25

TSN's Darren Dreger shocked the hockey world early Monday evening when he took to social media to announce that the Leafs were slapping the "C" on Auston Matthews' sweater ahead of the 2024-25 season -- with Tavares' blessing, of course. While the changing of the guard is surprising enough in its own right, there's also a certain level of intrigue over what it might mean for the team's alternates.

Last season, Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner all wore letters for the Maple Leafs behind John Tavares. In fact, this is the same leadership group since 2021-22. If the captaincy is changing hands this week, we are likely to also see a shift in who the alternates are this season.

An interesting exchange on social media on Monday brought forth an interesting idea and one that Leafs fans may actually support -- making William Nylander an alternate captain this season.

Nylander has been with the team for his entire career, and is the only player among the Core 4 to have signed an 8-year deal. Obviously, Tavares would have signed 8 years if it was an option, but due to the league's CBA, 7 years was the maximum term he could sign for as a UFA.

Nylander is coming off of a career year and has seemingly only gotten better with age as he emerges as a superstar in the midst of his prime. While he may not lead his team into any battles in the corners or drop the gloves, make no mistake about it, Nylander is a competitor who wants nothing more than to win.

The suggestion from @nylanderthews on Twitter/X also had Mitch Marner's name omitted from the list of leaders. I found this interesting for two reasons. 1, Marner has worn a letter since 2019, and 2, it was recently revealed that Marner has blackballed members of the Toronto media and has shown blatant disrespect to the media during interviews in recent years.

Teams want their leadership group to be available to the media and to represent them well, not get involved in public petty squabbles and behave like a juvenile. At times, Marner appears bothered to even be having a conversation with the media at all, which is not exactly ideal from a superstar in one of the hottest hockey markets on the planet.

Obviously, if Marner does remain in Toronto -- and that appears very likely -- I fully expect him to be wearing a letter, but I'm also not entirely convinced that he's a leader in the traditional sense in that he, at times, does not act like a true professional, which seems like it should be a pre-requisite when you're wearing a letter.

Another player whom I'd like to see wear an "A" for the Leafs in 2024-25 is Jake McCabe. The veteran defenseman plays difficult minutes every night and plays the game the right way, never cutting corners. He sticks up for his teammates and does all of the little things it takes to win hockey games. You can throw Chris Tanev into the mix as well.

With the official press conference scheduled to take place tomorrow morning to announce Matthews as the 26th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history, I'll be eager to see if they also announce who will be wearing an "A" under new head coach Craig Berube.

Source: Elite Prospects
Toronto Maple Leafs - Team Captaincy History