In a recent conversation about the Toronto Maple Leafs, Gord Stehlic joined Real Kyper and the Bourne Show to discuss the captaincy of the Maple Leafs. In the video below, he discusses why it would be beneficial for the team for Auston Matthews to be the captain instead of John Tavares. Several topics were discussed, but the discussion centered around the captaincy and team leadership.
Here's a breakdown of the main points and discussion:
The necessity of a conversation about captaincy
The question Nick Kypreos asked Stehlic focused on the inevitable debate over the captaincy: Should the team address the captaincy issue sooner, or should they let Tavares continue as captain for another year before moving on to Matthews? Stehlic is leaning toward keeping things as they are next season until Tavares' contract expires.
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He chose to keep Tavares as captain for another year, taking into consideration Tavares' professionalism and the important year ahead of him with his expiring contract. There is a lot of respect for Tavares in the locker room. He is considered a good leader and a consummate professional who handles the details well, even if he is not a dynamic personality. The answer is unknown, but removing Tavares as captain could cause unnecessary confusion in the team dynamics.
Why Auston Matthews should be captain
When Stehlic asked Kypreos which he preferred, Kypreos insisted that Matthews be captain, which he felt would give the team more responsibility and ownership — not taking the team away from Tavares, but encouraging Matthews to step up as the team's leader.
In his opinion, transferring the captaincy to Matthews could be beneficial, showing the team that it's built around him and encouraging him to take a more active role, especially staying connected with the team during the offseason. He thought Matthews might stay in Toronto longer during the offseason and become a more integral part of the community, rather than disappearing to Arizona for a few months of the year.
Two additional parts of the conversation
The video further divided the conversation into two parts. First, Kypreos and Stehlic discussed how Maple Leaf players have taken on expanded leadership roles and positions within the team thus far. Second, they discussed why the team might want to change the way they focus during the regular season, so that as the season winds down, they can be more prepared and focused for the playoffs, instead of concentrating on individual statistics and chasing individual records.
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Topic 1: Historical Background and Leadership Styles
Simply put, Stehlic discussed how the Maple Leafs team could strengthen its general leadership during the postseason by encouraging the current players to perform stronger in the playoffs. In the past, the Maple Leafs have had players and leaders like Gary Roberts and Darcy Tucker, who have always carried a heavy load during the postseason.
Topic 2: How regular season games affect playoff preparation
Second, Stehlic highlighted the unusual emphasis placed on individual achievements at the end of last season, specifically a bizarre final regular-season game against Tampa Bay in which only Matthews' 70-goal milestone and Nikita Kucherov's point total were of note.
He stressed the importance of prioritizing overall preparation over individual accolades and redirecting the focus to preparing the team for the playoffs.
Conclusion of the conversation: To migrate or not to migrate?
Kypreos and Stehlic were not initially on the same page in answering this question, but by the end of the conversation, their beliefs seemed to more or less align. In short, they tend to come to the conclusion that while Tavares is a respected leader, transferring the captaincy to Matthews could be a strategic move to further solidify his role as the face of the franchise. However, this switch should be handled with care to maintain team harmony and ensure that both players understand and accept the decision.
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The Maple Leafs captaincy debate continues. There are strong arguments in favor of both keeping Tavares and moving on to Matthews. The decision will ultimately depend on the team's long-term vision and the dynamics within the locker room.
