Yahoo Sports 'No, It Did Not': Auston Matthews Never Thought Once About Declining Maple Leafs' Captaincy From John Tavares
Auston Matthews had no thoughts of declining the Maple Leafs' captaincy when John Tavares offered it to him.
The 26-year-old answered several questions from the media, during the presentation and later in scrums following speeches from himself, Tavares, and Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving about the captaincy change.
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One of the questions lobbed to the new captain during the presentation was whether saying, "Thanks, but no thanks," popped into his head during the phone call where Tavares asked Matthews if he wanted to be the Maple Leafs' new leader.
"No, it did not," Matthews said with a smile.
"I think there's a lot of different responsibilities that come with it and, for myself, I don't think I need to change who I am or my process or the way that I approach the game or anything.
"I think it's just continuing to learn and to grow as a teammate, as a leader, as a person, and continue to take steps forward in those areas, and just try to be the best version of myself that I can be for this team, night in, night out."
Many key members of MLSE, the Maple Leafs, and each of the players' families were in attendance on Wednesday morning. Former Toronto captains Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark were also present for the announcement.
"I told Johnny, I was like, 'I was kind of shaking a little bit, I had chills,'" Matthews said in the Maple Leafs' latest Blueprint episode, which featured several key moments from the presentation.
"I know how much it means to wear the Maple Leaf on your chest every night and to represent Toronto. But, obviously, to be the captain, it's a special, special honor and responsibility."
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