During the question-and-answer period of his inauguration for being captain of the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews looked stunned when he was asked if it crossed his mind that he would decline the captaincy offered by John Tavares.
"No, it did not," Matthews said with a smile.
Matthews dove into the question further by explaining how he will not change how he does his business as he feels he is ready for this challenge.
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"I think there's a lot of different responsibilities that come with it and, for myself, I don't think I need to change who I am or my process or the way that I approach the game or anything.
There was a sense that a question like this could surface during the unveiling of this big change in leadership. Some people felt that Matthews would have declined it out of respect for Tavares as he has been the captain of the Maple Leafs for the past five seasons.
As far as many are concerned most feel it was impossible for the face of the franchise to pass up this opportunity in becoming the leader of the Maple Leafs. Matthews went further into his explanation saying that he has grown as a person and a teammate and always wants to be the best version of himself.
"I think it's just continuing to learn and to grow as a teammate, as a leader, as a person, and continue to take steps forward in those areas, and just try to be the best version of myself that I can be for this team, night in, night out."
In my view there was never a chance he was going to decline the captaincy because he is the face of the Maple Leafs and now he will face the daunting task of having everything fall on his shoulders on both sides of the coin.
