John Tavares stated earlier today that he doesn’t really think about the possibility of being named the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 29-year-old explained that the team has many good players and that when the time is right, the coaching staff will make that decision.
“I think we will have a good idea when the time is right,” he explained. “I think we have plenty of guys that can fill that role and do a great job at it.”
Over the last few weeks, a huge hype appeared about this matter, because everybody wants to know who will be the leader of a 13-time Stanley Cup champion. A 51-year title drought is the longest at the moment in the NHL, and the pressure for some success is getting higher and higher from season to season.
Both the fans and the media are expecting from the franchise to snap this devastating cold streak finally and to regain its status as one of the most successful organizations in the history of the NHL.
For Tavares, that is not an important matter, and the strong center believes that his teammates only had to focus on working hard and on supporting one another. Sooner or later, everything will turn out just fine.
“I think how we go about our daily business or how we focus for the season and how we prepare, we just kind of be together, work together, try to help each other, and when management feels that it’s right, they’ll make that happen.”
Things haven’t been that great for the Maple Leafs during the last season. After finishing third in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning, they clashed with the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite having a 3-2 lead in the series, and an opportunity to close the series, the Canadian team, couldn’t deliver the finishing blow to the late Eastern Conference champions. The board members had high hopes from that campaign and were very unhappy after the elimination by the Bruins.
Meanwhile, Tavares became one of the vital pieces in Toronto’s puzzle. In 82 matches he scored 47 times and had 41 assists, proving himself to be a massive addition for the Maple Leafs. He was the leader of the New York Islanders for five years prior to that and built a very good reputation for himself.
Right now, the rivals in his quest for the captain honors are Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews.
Head coach Mike Babcock wants to make some changes in this unit, and cause a positive reaction from the players. In general, the Maple Leafs are making huge changes in the roster. Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, Patrick Marleau, and Nikita Zaitsev are all gone. On the other hand, Tyson Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot, Jason Spezza, Cody Ceci, and Ben Harpur landed in Canada.
Big summer cleaning for the Maple Leafs just might be the best thing to do. But that won’t mean anything unless there is a proper leader on the court, who will guide this team to success.
