[MUSIC] >> Kneelator, who sets the prize for the dance score. >> It's on a trip on open end of games. And again, fire floor, Austin Matthews. >> While back here, and they have, Austin Matthews has the link leading goal. >> Did it cook in scores? >> Did that go on back to you? >> It did, it's an anchor, and we won't be on 64 what's tonight? >> Matthews shoots for number 50 for Austin Matthews in his backyard. >> Back it goes to Timmons to it, Matthews, there it is, number 16. The ninth player in NHL history to have both the 60 goal seasons. >> That is a perfect shot by a spectacular player at key moment in a tremendously well played hockey game. What a finish by Austin Matthews. >> Don't be looking at the hand, he's got Matthews, he has no new scores. Go ahead, goal, Austin Matthews with his 70th goal. Regular season and playoffs this year. >> Now for myself, as we look forward, I'm like a trending page. And the most important thing is the team and the team success, and making sure that I'm pulling my leg and doing what I can as a leader on this team. And individually to help the team win, and especially as we go into the post season. So that's where my focus is at, and I think that's kind of where my mindset's been at all year. [MUSIC] >> I don't know if the captain see weighs literally any more than the A, but I don't know, I could see there being a little more area on it. Maybe just a little more weight to carry, cuz it will be wearing the C this year. >> Yes, Leafs set to make that announcement tomorrow. And who better to kick off the final hour of the show to talk about it than our next insider brought to you by Don Valley North Lexus where you can expect excellence online. And in the showroom, visit DonValleyNorthlexus.com. Frank Saravelli, hockey insider, president of hockey content to daily face off. Host to the DFO rundown podcast as well as frankly speaking. Frank, it's been so long, how's your summer been? >> It's been good. It was good up until I had to interrupt it for you guys. >> Yeah, so it got better. That was your very filly way of being like, God, I missed you guys so much. Thank you for waking me up at eight in the morning to talk about Austin Matthews. That's exactly what I heard there. Yeah, a little early, I was looking at this. The Matthews extension we got last year was August 23rd. This one kind of came out of nowhere. I was just talking with my producer at the break here. I don't think they did it for our purposes. I enjoyed that they waited until the Olympics was over so we could kind of stretch out the content a little here. But I guess we'll start there. Why do you think this is coming now because the timing to me seems a little strange? >> I don't think the timing is, well, first off, I don't think the move or the timing is strange. One, I think you want to give some time and space for people to digest this and not just publicly and fans but also from a team structure and environment that, hey, this announcement isn't going to be sprung on people the day before training camp opens. I think this is something that's been in the works for a while with certainly in conjunction with John Tavares, who I think everyone would agree as a wonderful person but not the emotional leader of this team the last couple of years. And with him entering the final year of his deal, it made sense and we've all been looking for ways that this next Toronto Maple Leaf season with a few disappointing ones stacked on top of each other, how is it going to be different? There hasn't been the massive core change that everyone was hoping for or expected or wanted or whatever it might be and you're looking for signs, ways that this is going to be different and this is one of them. >> Frank, there's lots to pick at here and the one thing is you talked about John Tavares not being like this big overly vocal leader. Do you think that changes with Austin Matthews because he doesn't seem like that type of guy? I mean, I'm not in the locker room so I have no idea but he doesn't strike me as that type of guy. I think that them putting a C on his chest changes things because now it's undoubtedly his team and it's not John Tavares's team anymore and maybe he does things a little bit differently. >> I mean, I think it's a slight change. I don't think it's a massive C change to the point where all of a sudden we're looking at this team in a totally different way. I think it raises some different questions as you're asking. So we see a more vocal Austin Matthews because he isn't necessarily someone that's beating his chest in the middle of the locker room, at least that's how he strikes me, all that much more than Tavares who seems to be pretty quiet and reserved. But who knows? Maybe part of that was out of deference to Tavares, maybe we're going to see a little bit of a different Austin Matthews that I wouldn't bank on it. But I think the possibility exists that we do see a little bit of a difference. And maybe that's something that the Leafs are looking for. >> Maybe the answer to this question is no, I think for at least one of the two guys I'm about to bring up here, I think it does affect them. But what if anything does this change for the future or how does it affect the future of John Tavares and Mitch Marner? I mean, my read on the Tavares thing quite frankly is, okay, if he's willing to play ball here, how much more does that extend when his contract is up this offseason? And for Marner, I don't think he had any designs on being the Leafs captain. I mean, I'm sure he would have loved that, but I also think he can read the room. But I also think he has always looked at himself as, hey, that's my peer, like we're all peers, but that's really my peer in Austin Matthews and this is a clear sign of the pecking order. Everybody with eyeballs or the ability to read could understand the pecking order here, but I sometimes think players, especially ones as talented as Mitch Marner, can have, you know, slightly loftier opinions of, and I don't even say himself, like I just think he looks at Matthews and says, yeah, I think I'm just as good as that guy, I want to be just as good. Now, the team is saying pretty clearly, well, you're not, we've extended him, we haven't extended you, we've given him the C and you likely still have your A. What does this do for the future of Tavares and Marner his Leafs? I don't know that it really changes much, to be honest. Whether or not John Tavares is willing and interested to take a heavy hometown discount moving forward remains to be seen. Really what's the Leafs interest in having that happen moving forward is really more interesting than anything. My guess is given that John Tavares has made an absolute pile of money well more than 100 million in his career, I don't think it's necessarily standing out as, hey, I have to do this or this is the right player, whatever that might look like. When it comes to Mitch Marner, I mean, I don't know how to say this anymore clearly than this, there was a, and you can write it in sharpie and underline it six times, there was a 0.0% chance that Mitch Marner was going to be the next captain of this team. For one, we'll just look at his current situation and he's been sort of, if not publicly, then certainly privately, he seems like the odd man out. And it's really just more of part of it is his own situation is the reason why he hasn't been moved to this point. And two, I think there's been a healthy dose of friction there. You've seen it publicly on the bench. Between him and his teammates, he's definitely not, I can say for sure, he's definitely not the most popular Toronto Maple Leaf in that locker room. That's that fact. So that wasn't, there was, that was never on the table, that was never a possibility. So that's, did anything change over the last 24 hours since that news broke? The answer is no, everything is, is mostly the same from the future standpoint of both of those players. Well, Frank, the timing of this is, I mean, I wouldn't say it's curious by any stretch of the imagination, but I am interested in your take on, on where Craig Barouba falls into this as well, because, you know, part of this is, okay, new coach comes in. It's a clean slate for all of these guys really with the new coach coming in. But Brad for living has been here for a year. He's gotten to see how, how the sausage is made here in Toronto for a year. Is that, is part of this, okay, new coach, new captain, is this, Craig Barouba comes in, talks to all these guys and says, you know, I, I think I'd like a new captain. Where, where does he fall into this decision, do you think? I'm sure he factors in in a small way. I mean, nothing is going to be done without consulting your new head coach. I also think this change probably would have been made regardless of who was the next head coach. This was coming and whether it was coming today in, or tomorrow in August of 2024, or whether it was coming in June of 2025, or whenever it might be, this was happening. And I think it was an important step from the standpoint of, and, and look, I think it's a really valid question right from the very jump of our segment of how vocal, how different will Austin Matthews be. Now that he's wearing a, a letter that begins with a different one. I mean, is it how big of a change is it? It's fair to ask, but that change was necessary, I think was pretty obvious and clear. There were far too many moments where, you know, you'd be in a pressure packed key situation in a huge game. And you look on the bench and all, all you see is John Tavares looking down at, at escapes. And I'm not saying that's a negative. I'm not saying that he was a poor captain, anything like that. I'm sure his leadership is second to none. And especially off the ice, he's so well respected. But in those key moments, when this team has faltered in the past, I don't know about you guys, but looking at it from afar, I've always just wanted to see a little bit more more juice, more fire, more energy, more something. Give me something to let me know that you have a heartbeat. Is what I'm, is what I'm saying, make any sense? No, I think it's, I think it's super fair. I mean, it's, it's, you mentioned the stuff on the bench. It's like, it's not lost on any of us that it wasn't John Tavares screaming Lord knows what in Mitch Marner about junior or crying or whatever. I saw that came from the guys that are part of this kind of group. I also think the thing with Tavares and you don't hand somebody the captaincy for this, but I think look for this reason. But I think looking back on it and the kind of light a day now that you've done it is he was the perfect guy to kind of keep this thing warm for Austin Matthews. And it was a long run. It wasn't like he held it for two minutes, but the idea of making somebody a captain at 22 is, you know, less crazy than it once was. But I think it's still different doing that in the market. It should have been that way from Jump Street then. Then you should have said, you know what? We don't need one. Yeah. We're good without one. I'm not saying he was the wrong choice. I'm just saying doing it just to do it never really makes a lot of sense. Well, I mean, this, this goes into a million other things. I think they were honestly, I think going back to when it was first Tavares. I think they were super torn between Tavares and Matthews and having a bunch of things went into it. Well, and Riley Riley's always felt like the guy who if Tavares wasn't here, Riley would have ended up wearing the sea in that kind of interim period because I just think they are of the belief that doing it in Toronto is and again, you've heard me say this as you know, I'm not disagreeing, but I think the idea of making someone that young the captain didn't make any sense and having the kind of incubator around him of like, Hey, you can do it a different way. But this is the safest way to possibly be captain of the Leafs and Tavares was, was not a bad example. Last one before I let you go, Frank, the marner situation, it is going to be the blinking red light on this team's dashboard all season long. Again, Tavares, we can see several kind of road maps and where maybe it plays out, maybe it doesn't. The marner one, I can envision a thousand different ways, but what do you think will kind of be the, the tenor of the conversation or around him and the lack of an extension this year versus a guy who also doesn't have an extension in Lee on dry title? Well, I expect the dry title situation to be resolved before training camp opens. I, I don't think or don't know that we'll get that same resolution here with marner. And it's going to be fascinating to see the way that it's spun. Is this does Mitch marner come out and say, Hey, I wasn't interested in pursuing an extension? Does, do they mention that they also weren't willing to accept a trade? What, what, what does come out of this in the end? And what is the truth? I think me and the, I'm not calling anyone a liar, they may end up being two different things. I think the truth is that at varying points in, in May and June, the Leafs were putting feelers out there to understand what the market looked like and didn't get enough or didn't feel like they had a strong enough deal to even take to them and try and convince them of trying to move on. Now, what that means moving forward at maybe nothing, play out the year and, and see what happens. He still holds the ultimate power and control even well up through the trade deadline to the point where their hands could be totally tied. We've had this conversation ongoing since maybe February. Yeah, probably. At least it feels like, it feels like longer than that. But just a reminder that he holds ultimate control and their hands are tied. And that's a really uncomfortable position to be in. But it's also now getting to the point where it's going to be a really uncomfortable situation for Mitch Marner to be in with all the questions to answer, not to say nothing of going out and performing in an all-important contract here. Yeah, it'll be fun to see. And like you said, I think that's a topic we'll probably dive back into one or two more times throughout the season. Yeah, probably. No time for the Phillies today, but they're a real baseball team. So you'll have a lot of time to gloat about them into early October and maybe November. Frank really, really enjoyed the chat. Thanks so much for jumping on. There you go. There he is. Back to summer for Frank Saravelli. That insider brought to you by Don Valley, North Lexus, where you can expect X-Men's online and in the showroom. Visit Don Valley North Lexus.com. From one hockey guest to another, John Scott joining us now hosted the drop in the gloves podcast, former NHLer. And of course, 2016 NHL All-Star Game MVP. John, how are you doing this morning? Gentlemen, I'm doing good. Thanks for having me on. We love any excuse to talk hockey, but I didn't feel like I needed to stretch too far to make an entire show out of the Leafs changing their their captaincy. I mean, we'll just kind of start there. The feeling of that news, I mean, there are glamour franchises in in every sport. Like, you know, the Dallas Cowboys got a new quarterback. Everybody kind of takes note of it. And you know, I'm not saying there aren't a couple other franchises that check that box in the NHL. But man, the Leafs getting a new captain, just regardless of who it is, it's a massive story. It is. The fact that everyone thinks it's going to change anything. It's hilarious. It's it's just for show. This happened to me in San Jose. When the one I first got there, they just lost four in a row to the LA Kings. They were up three nothing in that series and they figured we need to change. Joe Pavelsky is the future. Joe Thornton is the past. We have to move on. We have to, you know, everything has to change. What happens? They give Joe the C. Joe Pavelsky the C. There was turmoil within the locker room because people still want to Joe Thornton to be the captain. It was just chaos. What ended up happening? It was just a terrible year. We don't make the playoffs. And it's all because of that. That good idea that sprung in the off season. Well, maybe this will help things. Maybe this will change our fortune. Maybe we could take that next step with Joe Pavelsky being the captain. There's Joe Thornton behind him. There's Patrick Marlow behind him. And I think you'll see the same thing this year is when they go into a structure, maybe they are playing well. The whispers will start to happen. Well, maybe Johnny T. would do something different. How was Austin Matthews going to handle this? And there'll be maybe dissension in the ranks. And I hope not. But it was not a popular change in San Jose when it happened when I was there. And I wonder how this is going to sit with the guys in Toronto when you go into that first day of camp. It's like, who do you go to? Because it's been Johnny T's team ever since he's got there. Now, Austin Matthews all of a sudden has to step up and fill that void. So it's an interesting dynamic. It's it's not as simple as just saying, okay, you're to see now you're the A and go. There's a lot of stuff that happens in that room that people it's it's going to be a different room moving forward. I don't know if it's going to work there. So I think that's really interesting. That's obviously excellent insight on your time in San Jose. That's like kind of the most famous captaincy carousel we've had in recent NHL history. Anyways, it's such a what you say though leads me to an interesting question of the double edged sword on one hand. If you're a coach or, you know, the leadership group or whoever is deciding on this because I don't know, maybe a little hard to have a vote in the locker room when all the players are dispersed across. How much do you want it to be the players deciding their captain versus a team that is by and large been the same, much like those sharks team saying we need something from outside going in like can the players overrule effectively? Like you said, like I'm just wondering how much do you want the players to decide their captain versus how much you want the coach to say, hey, this is the leader. This is who you follow. Well, it was a little more it's a little more smooth in Toronto because they've done it decisively in the offseason in San Jose. They did it during camp and they actually had a vote with the players and we all voted and hold on hold on sit right there. Is this like a secret ballot hands going up like I like the actual machinations of the vote. I'm very curious about where you guys just sitting in a room. Did you write up down on a piece of paper? How did that actually work? Oh boy, how do I remember this? I think we went in and talked to Todd, the coach, if he asked us who we would like to be a leader moving forward. So it was one of the situations where we had a meeting with the coach and it's like, what do you guys think? And I was new to the group. So I obviously my vote didn't count too much, I would think, but I said jumbo like he's our guy. And I think unanimously across the board, everybody wanted jumbo to remain the captain because he's a Hall of Famer. He's a great guy in the room and they just had success the year before. They just happened to lose four straight, you know, flooky in the playoffs and they had a great team. Why rock the boat? But anyways, the management, the coaches, they didn't really go with that. They wanted Joe Pavels to be the captain. That was their idea the whole offseason and they just picked a terrible time to do it right during camp. So it was just complete chaos and that whole year was just fighting between Doug Wilson and Todd McClellan and everybody. It was just a bad year all around. So that's kind of how that worked out where the management, they have an idea, they try to get the players on board. And if the players don't get on board, they're still going to go through with their idea. John, how much of of that type of a change? Like you referenced the time in San Jose. I mean, Joe Thorne is a pretty larger than life personality. And before him, I mean, that was a weird time. Like Rob Blake took over from Patrick Marlow and Patrick Marlow had been there for a long time. Like with this, with this particular situation in Toronto, it's John Tavares. And then there's, and John Tavares is not a larger than life personality. And there really isn't anybody outside of Revo. That's a larger than life personality in that room. Does that change in terms of like how it's how it's received by the rest of the team? Because there's not really those guys there in Toronto. They don't have Joe Thorne. They don't have Patrick Marlow. They don't have, you know, those guys already in place. Yeah, it does. Yeah, it's it's an unbelievable position that Austin Matthews is in. But I think it makes it a little easier that they don't have the other big personalities to maybe back up John Tavares where Austin Matthews can come in and hopefully put a stamp on this team. Hopefully you can come in and say our fellows get behind me and he has to talk with John Tavares and they kind of have an agreement. You're my guy. We're going to do this together maybe for the next year because we all know John's gone after this year unless he takes a huge pay cut. But yeah, it's an interesting situation. I thought it was going to work out in San Jose because you mentioned we had those other layers of guys to step up. But that might have hurt the situation because they all wanted Jumbo to be the captain. Povelski wanted Jumbo to be the captain. So it was just a weird situation. I think it might work out better in Toronto but usually going back along doesn't really work unless it's Wayne Gretzky taking over and then obviously it's going to work because everything Wayne touches was golden. Yeah, like taking over in St. Louis after being of course the trade deadline from Shane Corerson. So okay, so with this situation like you saw Joe Povelski front and center, how does that change the player? Because Austin Matthews and Joe Povelski, I guess, is probably in the same conversation. Like not these, you know, bombastic figures. They don't seem super outspoken but do you know, did you notice a change in Joe from the beginning of the season to the end of the season? Because for Austin Matthews, what he's done on the ice has been undeniable. From a leadership perspective, I don't know what he's like in the room. So I can't really comment. But did you notice a change from Povelski from the beginning of the season to the end of the season as he kind of grew into that role? Yeah, absolutely. I think you saw him grow up and be the guy in the room who would, you know, rally the troops, especially when things started to go south and the season started to slip away. He was the guy who stepped up and started challenging guys and getting at people's faces and just trying to do anything he could to salvage that season. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, you kind of saw Joe Thornton at the beginning of camp. He was the guy, the leader, he would introduce everybody. He was the face of the franchise. He started to take a step back to the point where he was more, you know, second, third line guy when it came to, you know, who's going to talk when times are tough? Who's going to say something was paths? It was Brent Burns. It was always, I was coach who was stepping up and then Marlow in jumbo kind of stepped back because I saw these young guys were taking all of the teams. So it did take a little bit of time, but it did happen where paths said, this is my team. I'm taking over it. The first year didn't work out. But after that, you could see the fruits of that mentality because they went on a huge run to the Stanley Cup finals. And they were a great team when he was a captain. Yeah, they were. I'm just, I'm looking at your, your hockey DB pages. I'm want to do. I just, I love pulling up hockey DB and looking at guys. Not much there. Well, okay. More than ours. I was going to say a lot more than mine. We can also say that you played with, I don't know, somebody who I think from the kind of, you know, fading now recent generation of great NHLers, when people would be asked to pick a great captain, it's like, sorry, I think Sid is the first name they mentioned. Jonathan Taevs wouldn't be too far behind on that list. I also don't think of him as Mr. Fiery, Ra, Ra, like when we, when we talk about that ability to really kind of galvanize the group, I feel free to correct us from the outside looking in. I don't think of Jonathan Taevs as Mr, you know, standing up in the middle of the room and giving a speech, we'd look at him as captain serious. How important is that to kind of be who you are while trying to be the great leader? Because I would imagine if, you know, okay, I got the C on me, I better start giving some speeches, that kind of rings hollow for some guys as well, if that's not who you are. Yeah, different guys have different talents. Johnny would give speeches, but it was more of the challenging nature, where if you weren't pulling the rope, if you weren't doing your job, you would get in your face. And it was Duncan Keith, it was Seabrook, it was myself, it was, it didn't matter what, what your salary was, who, how big of a star you were, he would get in your face and he would challenge you. And the great thing about John, he would go on the ice, he said, okay, you don't want to do it, go watch me. And you would watch him diving, blocking shots, he would be fighting guys, he would be doing everything that players don't want to do, going into the corners, going in front of that. And he would say, that's how you do it. I'm that guy, follow me into battle. And he wouldn't just go and brag and be like, oh, come on guys, we can do it. It was a more of a lead by example. And if you're not going to do it, I'm going to sit you down, I'm going to cush you out until you do it. And if you don't do it, you're off the team. Like that's just how he rolled. He's like, you're going to follow me, you're going to do it the way I want you to do it. Or else you're not going to be on this team. You wouldn't get guys traded. Right. But he would challenge you. He would challenge you in practice. He would challenge you in the locker room. What I, what I would throw at his, he said, because I wasn't playing because I felt like I was being the, I should be in the lineup. We were playing St. Louis. I came off the ice. I was like, this sucks. Throw my stick, broke this on a door. I was so mad. And I was an intimidating guy, six, eight, two, seven. You know, I was scary. He'd come up to me and grab me. He's like that. No, can't do that. We don't do that here. If you're not on the lineup, you take it like a man. You go out, you do your work. I understand you're frustrated. That's not going to happen here. And I was like, okay, sounds good. You know, and he put me in line. And here, here is this young kid who's probably 24, 25. And I'm just this lunatic, losing my mind in the locker room because I'm not in the lineup. And he just telling me, calm down, man. You know, we're not doing that here. And that wasn't volumes for me. When I was like, man, this guy gets it. Like he was a pure leader, whether you're a fourth line plug or a superstar who's pissed, he didn't get an assist on a certain goal or didn't get past the puck on a power play. He will, he will hold you to the fire, man. Well, and I also, I think he's actually another, it's a perfect guy to ask about another element of being the captain. And I say this is no shot to Jonathan Taves. It's like God, what a what a player, what a leader, what a winner. I think it's very fair to say he was not the best player on those Blackhawks teams. Like we're just doing a draft. There are people who would have said, I'll take Patrick Kay and there are also people who would say I take Jonathan Taves, but he didn't, he wasn't the captain of that team because he was the best player. I think there are some people from the outside looking in that say, all right, they're giving Matthews the C because of who he is as a player, not what he is as a leader. How, how does that element of it work? When you have a guy who is, you know, potentially not the best player on the team, but he's clearly the best leader. And conversely, I imagine whether it's in the NHL, whether it's other times in your life, you have a guy who's put in a leadership position that maybe they don't deserve just because of the talent that they have on the ice. Yeah, it's an interesting thing. You want your best player to be the leader, but it doesn't always work out that way. You look at the Rangers. They offered it there and he's like, I'm okay. You look at Boston Posta. There's a lot of the captain. You look around the league. These players who are the superstars, goals, scores, the flashy players, they don't want to be the leaders. They don't want that pressure that comes along with wearing a C on the ice. So Austin obviously wants it. I'm, I'm sure they consulted with him and said, Hey, how do you feel about this? And he wants this challenge. This is, like you said, the start of this little set. This is the biggest most famous franchise in the NHL and wearing that seat comes with a lot of responsibilities and a lot of pressure and he's up to it. So I hope he gets that seat and runs with it. And he's a fantastic for the Toronto. Is he the first American captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs? I think he is. So that's another question to go along with it. So it's going to be a good challenge for him. I hope he steps up. It's nice that there's not a lot of other guys waiting in the wings who could be captain. Like you said, Johnny's going to be gone next year. No one's given up to Mitch or Nye's or Nieland or no. Like there's not a lot of options. So what's his team? You know, Sacred Swim. And I think they had to do it. Maybe not. Maybe it's a little early, but it was, I think it's a good time for them to make the change. Yeah, I think very, very few people upset with the move. I think, I think people are curious how it'll, how it'll play out. What will it do to the player? What will it do to the team? But I don't think there's anybody saying they question the move today. John really, really appreciate you jumping on. Thanks so much for taking the time. No, thank you. I appreciate it. Anytime you can get insight from a captain himself at, of course, the 2016 All-Star game of which he was MVP. And great stories. I don't know. It's like just checking boxes of things we would want to hear from our guests today, right? It's like the shark situation comes to mind. Played there. Jonathan Tave's great leader. Done it. Played with both those guys. It just kind of works out well. Very, very kind of fitting guests there. And obviously you get the insight from Frank earlier on in the hour. I think that's the thing that is going to kind of keep coming to people's minds from this. And I think this is more an outside the market thing than an inside the market thing. Is Austin Matthews the Leafs captain because he scored 69 goals last year? Or is he the Leafs captain because that's the guy they feel should be leading the team regardless of what his hockey DB pitch is. I think if it was, if it was the former Austin Matthews would have been the captain a while ago. And I think he's, I think he's grown into a mature hockey player. And we've also seen the the evolution of Austin Matthews as a player, whether it be from just being the guy who just scores goals and can't play in his own end to a 200 foot player who finished third in Salke voting to a guy that led his team and hits in the playoffs a couple of years ago. Like we've seen the evolution. And I think it's, it's just part of the maturation process of a player, which is why and I agree with you. It's, it speaks to the point of you can't just name a 22 year old captain because he's your best player. Like I know the Edmonton Oilers did that with with Conor McDavid. But if Conor McDavid was named the captain a year ago, we've seen Conor McDavid take his game to another level and be that player in the playoffs when it matters. So I think that's, I think that's what we've seen. Also, sorry. There's also no one in Edmonton to take that, that role unless it was Ryan Nugent. Also, also sorry. It's just different. I'm sorry. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Edmonton is not a market without pressure and they're not dying to, you know, pick up the scraps of whatever McDavid, you know, says on any given day. I get it. Okay. Canadian markets, there's pressure. There's pressure. It ain't the same. I'm sorry. It's just not the idea of being the captain of the Leafs. And you know, I'm not saying, yeah, I got a lot of balls would have bounced that way for the Leafs who knows what this whole thing is looking like here. I'm not saying they wouldn't have made him the captain. That's also the reason why Conor McDavid is special special. And I know like we don't, this is an awesome Matthew's day. We don't need to get into, you know, the differences between the two of them here. But it's the reason City Crosby was named the captain as young as he was because he's special special. Conor McDavid is special special. And I think some guys just need a little more time to grow into it. I also think this is something the org was wholly considering five years ago when they gave the honor to Tavares. There was, there was nobody pouring cold water on the idea. There were analysts and, you know, you and I talking about it who maybe said, and not the time, not the time, but there was nobody from within the org saying, no, you better quiet down that, that rumor. There was none of that. The speculation was rampant because they were that close to doing it five years ago. And if you thought he was kind to ready then, how can he not be ready now? And I also, you know, this is a good point to transition. What we'll talk about on the other side here. I just think this is the other benefit of making the change with baroobay. This is your chance to kind of have a clean slate. So clean slate for the Leafs is a clean slate for Marner is a clean slate for Tavares. And where are our heads at? Now that we've had a time to kind of sit down and actually think about and talk about this thing for the last two and a half hours, let's go for another segment coming up on the other side of things fan morning show on SportsNet 5.9 of the fan. I'm Tavares wins it cleanly. Back to the point it goes to Willy. Willy with a shot in the goal of Deflica just wide. He'll get a second chance at the point of shot. Rebound in front of the goal. Deflica! Morgan Riley has tipped it in. And then John Tamaras gets the existing in. The Leafs have tied the game. And the captain has a 1,000 points to send the game to overtime. Tavares keeps it going. And then John Tamaras behind the head. As a kid you know cheering for the Leafs growing up you know you start to get those feelings again once I went through the interview process and got that and just what it was like as a kid watching the Leafs and following my favorite players I just I thought the timing was too good and it was an opportunity I didn't want to turn down and I'm very fortunate to be here and happy to call myself for me please. The passion that unites us all. Passion possessor John Tamaras don't let it be said otherwise something tells me Matthews I like it's weird you don't want to get up there and like give a break heart speech at your first unveiling of Leafs captaincy but I don't know we could like find a touch more joy and energy and again like be true John Scott just said it don't come in here and be something you're not but it is just funny God God love our hockey robot in in John Tamaras there. Now we heard the announcement I'm trying to remember when they announce because you know they announce all the players at the beginning of the season. Will they go from San Ramon, California or will they go from Scottsdale, Arizona and the 26th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs Ostomat. I think they go San Ramon, California. I'm trying to remember when Mike Ross belts it out. I don't know it's got to be the birthplace right you'd think I'm just going I'm going off what's listed on NHL.com. I'd imagine that's as good a place as any for the league too but I don't know might as well be from Toronto now because he's ours and he ain't going anywhere. I do want to look back on the Tamaras legacy of it all. It's a crazy thing to say that the thing that will make Tamaras legacy look best is if they don't have success going forward like if in a decade from now we're still talking about the biggest goal in Leafs history being when John Tamaras caught lightning in a bottle. He won't want to have been a part of any of that but that will actually make us look back on the captaincy with more rose colored glasses than we do now but obviously from Matthew's perspective. Yeah, there's a world where he gets to hoist the cup from from Betman and they're all booing Betman and cheering him. It's an incredible thing. I mean for Tavares to be so and again like you know get with the program or don't we're going to do this one way or another. I imagine you want to be seen to be a good soldier but yeah I'm really curious to see what his comments are on all this. Obviously it's a tremendous honor just just ask him. Yeah but I'm curious to see because I think it would be the very much the right move to have him there to squash all this tomorrow and I'm curious to hear from him at all this because you know it's an honor it still was it still is and losing it's got a sting and I just wonder how much of that we're he's going to be willing to like confront publicly with us. I'm sure the answer is not. Yeah knowing what we know about John Tavares. I can't see a world in which he's critical of the decision and so I understand it's the right time to do it that you know Austin's shown whatever like this is his team and all that kind of stuff but again it's it speaks to and this is not that John Tavares is the only guy that does this because hockey in general is about don't be bigger than the crest on the front of the jersey. That has been that is tried and true forever and ever on men and anybody who kind of steps out of that line is considered to be what's the word. A problem selfish yeah like all those all those descriptors and so John Tavares isn't that but I also believe that John Tavares is smart enough to realize that it's time to pass the baton and again as we mentioned earlier in the show this is part and parcel of the I want to be here and if that's what it takes for me to be here then I'm good with that. Does this is it possible to ratchet up the pressure on Austin Matthews anymore because I would argue no I think he might feel it a little more but I don't know it's not like there wasn't a crowd of jackals waiting for him after every and I say that is a beloved member of my media jackals club here but it's not like there's not a million people waiting to ask him a question after every single game and I'm also a believer of this that these guys get mobbed when they go out in public not really like yeah if you walk around if you walk around like wearing your leaf jersey then sure but it's like throwing some shades throw on a ball cap throw on a hoodie and you can kind of go about and live your day I feel like Matthews is completely understanding of what it means to kind of be in the spotlight there's been a lot of things he does that he you know I mean I guess we know about it's how private is it kept but like there's not cameras following him around he goes to sick kids and see all those guys all the time he could still kind of see those kids all the time he's still able to live his life that's the thing I keep coming back to is them obviously the most important decision is what does this mean for the team but I think from an individual perspective is what does this mean for Matthews and I can see a world where it emboldens him I can see a world where it improves you know he feels more of an ownership I just can't see a world where this is a negative for him in any way shape or form no no because he wants this like he's not Austin Matthews is not becoming the captain in today's day by saying you know what I'm really not sure of it like he's jumping into this thing head first he knows exactly what he's getting into he's been in the league long enough and and not for anything Austin Matthews looks at his peers and players that he wants to be mentioned in the same category as the Sidney Crosby Conor McDavid well exactly they all have the C so I don't I don't envision a scenario in which the pressure gets ratcheted up because he's already playing here he's already performing at the highest level that any may belief has ever performed at on a consistent basis especially from a goal scoring perspective so what does this do what I believe it does is it I think it puts it puts more of a an oh it does put more of an onus on Austin Matthews to you know maybe have a bigger moment than John Tavares did which is the biggest moment in this in the the last 20 years of this franchise I think there's pressure for that but I think that pressure exists anyway like it's not because oh because Austin Matthews has the captain see that oh the there's so much more pressure to win in the playoffs that pressure exists there because you're in Toronto not because he's the captain well you know also why that pressure exists because of how good Austin Matthews is of course remove him from the equation and this is still a good hockey team with John Tavares up the middle and I guess again like there's 11 you know there's nearly 13 million dollars available to you so you know you'll be able to add a couple pieces here it's still a good hockey team but the biggest reason why this team has the expectations they do is because of one guy number because of Austin Matthews again like if Mitch Marner was the best player on this leaf team we're okay you think it's William Nylander William Nylander was the best player on this leaf team we wouldn't be talking about it as though it was a failure that they didn't win the cup every single year that scrappy team that kind of just gets in oh they got some nice pieces you'd love if they had that big horse up the middle is how you talk about it but because that horse up the middle exists that's why the expectations are are here I think the other thing of this is the the feeling of their being changed that's something we probably haven't hit on enough today that I think is the thing people are looking at is that it's different how how true is it okay true I'm gonna I'm gonna make a statement you tell me true or false Austin Matthews is being named Leafs captain because they could not trade John Tavares or Mitch Marner true or false like if they're able to make a Mitch Marner trade or John I think it's different with Tavares so let's say Marner they're able to trade Marner at the draft and it's defenseman X and a piece and a pick and whatever it is do they feel the need to make this seemingly massive public change no or no no I don't think so I think they do it anyway you think they do it anyway I think I think we're we're at that point because I think a lot of people look at this and say ah you couldn't make your Marner trade and you change your coach but really that's not enough so this is more like I don't believe that but I think there is a segment of people that are going to say this is just a cosmetic change because you couldn't get the building permits to do anything structural to the house no I think that they were making this change regardless of that fact like changing trading John Tavares obviously means that they're making a change at captain right and that that hasn't happened and it's not going to happen but Mitch Marner leaving does not change their decision to name Austin Matthews captain I don't believe yeah I don't I don't think so either what I what I don't think so as well what I do believe is that you all want to see Blue Rodeo and as I mentioned earlier Blue Rodeo hits Budweiser stage on Saturday August 24th along with guest Matt Mays and Bagonia and we're going to give away tickets in today's show to enter for a chance to win text today's code word try to 59590 again that's try to 59590 standard message and data rates may apply we're giving away another pair of tickets tomorrow but if you don't win with us make sure to secure your tickets on ticketmaster.ca the timing of it I think the more the more I think about it would I have expected a move like this to have come more in lockstep with when Matthew signed his contract last year more late August than middle August I could see that but I also think what I think it was Frank who made the point to us it makes a ton of senses you don't want this thing to still be fresh and hot when the players first show face be that at the golf tournament be that at the you know the medical day when the when training camp really gets going I think that having the lead time for us all to have all these conversations and then you hear from at the very least Matthews and Tavares tomorrow then you know is Mitch Barners still gonna have to answer questions about this a day when a training camp sure but it's he is in a much better spot to do that when this is a quite frankly you know month old story than if it was three days ago and John Scott made the point part of the struggle that they had in San Jose when they made the change was because it was done in the middle of training camp. Okay hold on a sec we I forgot that we needed to double down on that. What what I would have given to be a fly on the room or fly in the wall in that room I think it makes all the sense in the world that you bring the coach in and he's got his little like tally there or maybe he had an abacus behind him he's like hmm that's one for Joe move the red over I think that's so interesting I would have loved a world where this is like a survivor like tribal council it's like Tom McClellan's like reading out the votes one by one they're sitting there in the room that is the answer I have always wondered about this stuff and we hear about players voting on captains and teams deciding what we need that was so illuminated to hear that from John Scott earlier in the show of how it actually kind of happened again like a little anti-climatic of yeah I just went and told the coach but I I have at least wondered about that a ton thinking about obviously thinking about it today with the Matthews News but just in general thinking about one of the stranger things that's happened in recent NHL history. Yeah and and I wanted to get this text in before we before we because we only got a couple minutes left but this from Ed in Aurelia given their playoff record with this core I don't think who the captain is matters to fans they want playoff success I don't think that those things go hand in hand I think that you can still want success and to have a different captain and I think that the majority of this fan base has seen enough from John Tavares being the captain and want a change even if it may just be cosmetic because one thing that we know in this city is some people just like change for the sake of change we do that and so I think that not that this falls under that category but I think it absolutely matters who the captain of this team is because they're the ones answering the questions and people don't like robotic John Tavares they don't is Austin Matthews gonna be any better maybe not but it's different and I think that's what this whole especially with this offseason with the change that head coach and and now this change different isn't always a bad thing right now change isn't a bad thing with this group who hasn't had any playoff success. Well and if we've kind of danced around this all day maybe this will be like the the chief topic of tomorrow's show is that is that well yeah with Baroobay coming in but the the thing I look at is that Austin Matthews we have all had this conversation in the playoffs and this playoff in particular super unfair because again he was don't call it a concussion but weird-headed HUD of the playoffs whatever whatever that is is that how many conversations you know privately publicly whatever if people come up to you and said god I just wish he was wired like McKinnon just wish he was wired like like David why can't he be wired like Sid this is the opportunity maybe he is if there has ever been something holding a back I'm like oh man this is John's team I can't personally I don't think Austin Matthews is wired that way to begin with and I don't say he can't reach that level I mean he's not wired to hold back anything just because John Tavares is there that is going to be the thing I think we keep keep wondering about coming out of this timing is curious I think we're all curious to see what the announcement looks like I sure will get the visual of Tavares handing off the jersey to Matthews there and this is going to be a kind of sea change moment of this Leafs era doesn't mean it will all be different but we will look back at this as a clear delineation point because given their druthers I think everybody in the Leafs front office would expect Matthews to exist on this team beyond the deal he's signed to right now and if that's the case this is probably the start of a hopefully successful run yeah it's going to be fascinating to watch and very curious to see what they say we've got another day before we can even hear from these guys so we've got plenty to chew on oh more speculation about the Leafs as I've always said Brad Chilean excellent timing on all your moves great job whoever's decision it was to name Matthews captain and then give me like three days to talk about it before it actually happens what a fun show thanks everybody for texting in most importantly thank you for listening it's been another edition of the fan morning show on sports dev 590 the fan good morning look at me short look at me short and the captain now
