Auston Matthews may seem like the obvious choice to become the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but former captain Mats Sundin said that may not necessarily be the case.
"It's easy to say Auston Matthews, he should be the captain," Sundin told TSN 1050 on Friday. "But saying that, it has to be a player and a person that also wants to carry that responsibility and actually plays better wearing the C."
Toronto has not had a captain since defenseman Dion Phaneuf was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 9, 2016; he was captain since the 2010-11 season. Last season, forwards Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov, and defenseman Morgan Rielly were alternate captains.
Kyle Dubas, who was promoted to general manager May 11, replacing Lou Lamoriello, said there is no urgency to name a captain.
"You really have to be in the dressing room, as a manager, as a coach or as other players, you kind of know who are the leaders in the team and in the room, especially when a team is so young," Sundin said on "Leafs Lunch." "… I'm sure everybody (on the inside) knows who is potentially going to be the captain."
Sundin, a Hockey Hall of Fame member, was Maple Leafs captain from 1997-2008, taking over from Doug Gilmour. Toronto also went two seasons without one after Sundin left, until Phaneuf was named.
Matthews, who turns 21 on Sept. 17, has seemed to be in line for the role since the center was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"Most of the great leaders I played with, they lead by example, they lead by the way they play on the ice, they compete the most, they treat their players in their dressing room in a very professional way, they treat everybody the same, whether you're a player, or equipment manager, or the person down in the garage where you park your car," Sundin said.
"They are professional off the ice, they're first in the gym. You want that kind of culture as your leader, and when you have someone like that ... especially if you have the highest-paid guy, or one of your star players, the rest of the team's going to follow that. When I look at a leader, that's what I want to see."
Toronto has lost in the Eastern Conference First Round in each of Matthews' two NHL seasons after making the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in the previous 11 seasons (2012-13).
Sundin, a forward who played 13 seasons for Toronto (1994-2008), said reports of a rift between Matthews and coach Mike Babcock, which caused the two to meet earlier this offseason, should not surprise anyone.
"That happens every other day, but it doesn't get to media most of the time," Sundin said. "Hey, it's such a competitive environment, as players, and as coaches, and especially in a city like Toronto where there's so much expectations on the group and [coming] out of the group, that when you feel like you're not maybe reaching the full potential of that, there's obviously tempers flaring. So I think that's just part of playing at an elite level, of any sport, but especially in a franchise like Toronto."
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