MONTREAL -- If ever there was a place for Auston Matthews to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs into a new chapter, this is it.
When the Maple Leafs star forward and his teammates step onto the ice at Bell Centre for their 2024-25 season opener on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS), it will mark the 769th regular-season meeting between Toronto and the Montreal Canadiens in the latest edition of the NHL’s most fabled rivalry.
What better environment for Matthews to play his first meaningful game while wearing the “C” stitched on his blue-and-white jersey after he was named the 26th captain in the franchise’s 107-year history?
And what better way to kick off a season in which the 27-year-old needs 53 goals to surpass Hall of Famer Mats Sundin, who had 420 with Toronto, as the Maple Leafs' all-time leader?
It truly is the beginning of a fresh era for the Maple Leafs.
Or is it?
For Matthews, putting his name into the Toronto record books and being captain are both great honors. But that’s not the priority. Helping put the Maple Leafs into a deep Stanley Cup Playoff run, something they haven’t done for most of the the past two decades -- that’s the main goal.
Until that happens, it’ll be another narrative of “the same old Maple Leafs.” And he knows it.
“That’s obviously the focus is to make the dance,” Matthews said Tuesday. “That’s where we’re at. We just want to to continue to build our game now throughout the next couple of months and then, put ourselves in a position, obviously, to get there.”
In the opinion of management, Matthews is the player and person to do exactly that.
Selected No. 1 by the Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthews has an eye-catching cache of individual accomplishments that includes winning the Calder Trophy as the League’s rookie of the year in 2016-17, capturing the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2021-22, and receiving the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the leading goal-scorer in 2020-21 (47 goals), 2021-22 (60) and 2023-24 (69).
Through it all, the Maple Leafs have won just one postseason series in the past two decades, that coming in 2023 when they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round.
Though that dry spell can hardly be blamed on Matthews, it’s a trend he desperately wants to change. And for anyone who saw him dominate Game 2 of the first round against the Boston Bruins with three points (one goal, two assists) in Toronto’s 3-2 win last April, it’s obvious that he can be the catalyst to do it.
Sheldon Keefe was the coach of the Maple Leafs at the time. He was fired shortly after Toronto was eliminated by Boston in seven games. Now, having been hired by the New Jersey Devils on May 23, he agrees with the Maple Leafs' decision to make Matthews the captain.
In his mind, like those of Toronto management, this is Auston Matthews’ team and Auston Matthews’ time.
“It made sense to think Auston's ready for that,” Keefe said. “He’s leading his own way.”
Keefe was quick to point out that Toronto center John Tavares, who graciously passed on the captaincy to Matthews, was a class act who set a great example with his leadership and work ethic.
“But Auston’s ready to take on more," Keefe said, "so I wasn’t surprised at that whatsoever.”
For Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, the move wasn’t intended to reflect negatively on Tavares. It was instead an acknowledgement of Matthews’ growth as a player, person and, most importantly, a leader.
“He’s a guy that people in this room follow,” Treliving said, adding that “we just need him to be Auston.”
So far, so good, according to his linemate and longtime friend Mitch Marner.
“He doesn’t look like there’s any pressure or anything like that,” the Maple Leafs forward said. “And that’s what you want. He’s excited to be the captain of this team. And it’s not weighing on his mind at all. So that’s something you love to see. And it’s something our whole team sees.”
Matthews has adopted the mindset of leading by example. In the process, he says wearing that special letter on his chest hasn’t changed him.
“It doesn’t feel too different, actually,” he said. “I think it’s probably more symbolic than anything.
“This being my ninth season, it’s some of the vets like Morgan Rielly and I, among others, just making sure that we’re setting the standard every day.”
Matthews and the Maple Leafs certainly will be put to the test this week. After the season curtain-raiser in Montreal on Wednesday, they’ll take on Keefe and the Devils in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday in what promises to be an emotional meeting for both sides.
From a personal standpoint, it will be the beginning of the next stage of his march towards Sundin’s record, a mark the Bromma, Sweden, native feels Matthews will inevitably eclipse.
“Obviously Auston is going to beat my record, whether it’s this year or next year, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Sundin, a former Toronto captain, said last month. "I mean, Toronto Maple Leafs is the biggest hockey franchise in the world, and so many great players have been captains, and it is a huge honor. Comes with the responsibility, but Auston is the top guy on the team.
"He's the leader and he deserves it. I think it's something that's going to make him even a better player. He’s going to do great.”
We’re about to find that out.
NHL.com staff writer Mike G Morreale contributed to this report
