Oh captain, no captain, Dubas says
CHICAGO— As John Tavares and Auston Matthews set out for the NHL Player Media Tour — marking their first public appearances as teammates — they learned neither one of them would be named captain of the Maple Leafs.
Tavares, the hometown big-money free agent acquisition over the summer, had been captain of the New York Islanders. Matthews, the rising star, was seemingly being groomed for the job since his selection first overall at the 2016 NHL draft.
But new general manager Kyle Dubas told TSN the Maple Leafs would start the season without a player donning the captain’s C.
“It’s an honour to be the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Dubas said. “I want to get into it day to day with these people and see who is best suited to handle it if we do determine we need somebody to handle it, if we feel we have a void in leadership because we don’t have a formal captain.
“But I do think we have excellent leadership in the room.”
The Leafs have been without a captain since Dion Phaneuf was traded on Feb. 9, 2016.
Dubas praised the likes of Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey as returning veteran leaders, and a young core that includes Morgan Rielly, William Nylander and Mitch Marner capable of leading as well. The announcement comes just as Matthews and Tavares have joined 34 other NHL stars in a tour through Chicago in front of media members for two days of being poked, prodded and photographed.
It’s called the NHL Player Media Tour, but nicknamed the Players Car Wash. Everyone gets 15 minutes alone with one player at a time representing a cross-section of NHL teams.
T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov, for example, will be no doubt asked about their summers with the Stanley Cup and what the Washington Capitals will have to do to defend it for the first time in franchise history.
Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Taylor Hall are other name draws at the event skewing toward the league’s young stars. Sidney Crosby is here for one day. Alex Ovechkin is not at the event.
But it’s the Leafs’ big two — Tavares and Matthews — who will draw lots of attention.
With both in blue and white, the Leafs have centre firepower that at least matches the likes of the Capitals (Nicklas Backstrom, Kuznetsov), Pittsburgh (Crosby, Evgeni Malkin), Boston (Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci) and Tampa Bay (Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point). Throw in Nazem Kadri and the Leafs may have more centre depth among their top three lines than any team in the Eastern Conference. And none are over 27 years old.
The Leafs’ Stanley Cup aspirations could come down to how well Tavares and Matthews get along. Both are captain material.
If anyone missed Matthews’ leadership ability, it was on full display when coach Mike Babcock visited Matthews in Arizona shortly after a season that ended with a disappointing first-round playoff elimination. Both Matthews and fellow young star Marner expressed disappointment at not getting to play together much.
No doubt the Leafs’ road ahead, while promising, will also be filled with potholes Dubas will have to navigate. The tricky issue of contracts (extensions for Matthews and Marner, and a deal for Nylander, a restricted free agent) has the ability to create bad blood or force change when the salary cap becomes an issue.
And the captaincy issue will return.
“We’ll evaluate it as the season goes on, and as we go through the ups and downs of the season, and how the players each individually handle the daily process of the season,” Dubas said. “It’s a very important decision, and not one to be rushed.”
One matter sure to come up is labour relations. In a year’s time, the players and the league have to advise each other whether they want to reopen labour talks in 2020 or 2022.
Some free agents have already been signing lockout-protected contracts. In 2020-21, the first year of a potential lockout, Tavares is guaranteed $11 million (U.S.) in signing bonuses while risking $910,000 of base salary.