Auston Matthews to be named Maple Leafs new captain

Breaking news out of Toronto as trusted reporter Darren Dreger has dropped a massive tweet saying that Auston Matthews will replace John Tavares as captain of the Maple Leafs. The official announcement will reportedly come on Wednesday.

Tavares has been captain of the Leafs for quite some time, and according to Dreger, is very supportive of this move.

Tavares has been working with Brad Treliving on the matter, who is making a big statement with this move.

It has been speculated for months now if the Maple Leafs would give the «C» to Matthews and strip Tavares, and it seems Leafs Nation finally has an answer.

It's not often in the NHL you see a captain being stripped and actively working with his teams GM to find a replacement, very classy move by Tavares, who will no doubt still be involved in the Leafs leadership group.

For Matthews, it is a massive increase in responsibility, as Toronto is one of, if the most harsh market in the NHL. Many fans will blame him when the going gets tough, it remains to be seen how Matthews will respond.

Only time will tell what kind of impact this will have on the Leafs as a whole.