Morgan Rielly defends John Tavares after captaincy given to Auston Matthews

It has been an eventful offseason for the team's number one blueliner. He and his wife, famous ice dancer Tessa Virtue, just welcomed their first child to the world, baby boy McCormick Rielly.

While the introduction of a child is certainly a life-changing event, Rielly and the rest of his teammates still have a job to do. By now, the Leafs fanbase is desperate for the team to find some playoffs success, but it is not clear exactly how dedicated ownership is. One would imagine that drastic changes would have been made after last season, but that was not the case. Mitch Marner, as well as the rest of the team's core players, remains in Toronto. Instead, the big offseason move appears to have been stripping John Tavares of the captaincy and giving it to Auston Matthews instead. Rielly shared his thoughts on this move today, noting that he has been in communication with Tavares and knows the ins and outs of everything going on with this move.

At the same time, Rielly has really shown a lot of confidence in Auston Matthews as the new captain of the team, and why would he not? Matthews is arguably a top three player in the NHL and has shown time and time again that his heart is in the right place. His production in the playoffs is still a concern for many fans, but he is good enough that it is certain some of those bounces will eventually start to go his way.

The Leafs drafted Rielly 5th overall in the 2012 draft. He is without a doubt the best blueliner to come from the draft and arguably one of the best players period. He has 80 career goals and 472 points in 791 career games. Last season he potted seven goals and added 51 helpers for 58 points.

Source: HockeyFeed
Morgan Rielly shares true feelings over John Tavares losing captaincy

Source: HockeyReference
Morgan Rielly Career Statistics