Rumor: Leafs ready to give Matthews the “C”?

When the Toronto Maple Leafs take to the ice at  Air Canada Centre next Tuesday, December 19th, it will officially mark the 100th anniversary of the NHL and the Toronto franchise. Dubbed the “Next Century Game”, the 2pm matchup between the Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes is the official demarcation of the NHL’s first 100 years and its future. The Toronto Arenas played the first NHL game in history on the same date in 1917.

What better opportunity for the Leafs to unveil a major event in their history and name superstar Auston Matthews as the team’s next captain? Leafs Nation blogger Ziggy argues that the event is the “best time to name Matthews captain.” While this doesn’t exactly qualify as a scoop, the words of Leafs president Brendan Shanahan certainly lend itself to rumor and speculation.

“We’re now able to look ahead as we start to write the next great chapters in team history along with creating new generations of Leafs fans, which is an important part of this celebration,” said the Leafs boss.

Whether the Leafs elect to go this route or not remains to be seen. But, what’s undeniable is that in their first century the Leafs were fortunate to have the steadfast leadership of 18 different men, now the beginning of its next 100 years lie in the hands of one man: Auston Matthews.