Leafs captaincy change may be similar to Edmonton Oilers

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Ryan Hall
August 13, 2024 (2:23 PM)

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TSN reporter Gord Miller explained the Leafs captains change to another captains change that happened with the Edmonton Oilers back in the 1980s.

Miller feels that former Leafs captain John Tavares was not stripped of his captaincy as he was in full discussions with general manager Brad Treliving of passing the torch of leadership to Auston Matthews. Miller recalled a captains change that happened in 1983 when the Edmonton Oilers decided that Lee Fogolin was ready to hand over the captaincy to the young Wayne Gretzky.

Fogolin's gesture to hand it over to The Great One turned out to be a great decision as both Fogolin and Gretzky went on to win the Stanley Cup the following year. Other teams have also made this decision including the 1979 dash 1980 New York Islanders when Clark Gillies decided to hand over the captaincy to Denis Potvin.

This change in leadership for the Maple Leafs is a way to show that management is willing to make some changes from the status quo. Many fans felt that there was going to be a major shake up in the lines especially with the Core 4 but with the summer waning and most teams locked up their cap space, it's an all but certainty that the Core 4 will remain for game one of the new season.

With Matthews taking over, it remains to be seen on how long John Tavares will remain with the Maple Leafs now with the captaincy no longer attached to him and all his salary virtually paid on by July 1st, there's a strong possibility that he may not be with the team by the end of the year.