TSN's Darren Dreger Confirms Exciting News About Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, per a report from The Hockey News, Auston Matthews will serve as captain of Team USA at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

The news has since been confirmed by the NHL, via their official Twitter account.

The news of Matthews' captaincy announcement comes on the heels of reported meetings that took place between Matthews, Leafs GM Brad Treliving and Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin on Wednesday, prior to the Leafs/Wild game.

Matthews was not the only Leaf who has earned the honour of wearing a letter for his country at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, as William Nylander will wear an "A" for Sweden, per an official announcement on Thursday.

Nylander also joked on Wednesday about potentially dropping the gloves with Matthews during the tournament.

Matthews' participation in the tournament has been a hot button issue in Toronto since his two stints on injured reserve due to an unspecified upper-body injury, for which he actually sought treatment in Germany earlier this season.

The Leafs' captain has not produced a point in back-to-back games, but did put up 9 goals and 15 points in 10 games prior during the month of January.