Former Maple Leafs Captain Sounds Off On John Tavares' Decision

Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark weighed in on the recent leadership change within the team, where Auston Matthews has taken over the captaincy from John Tavares, talking to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Star on August 14.

Clark, who served as captain for three years and played under other equally talented and important Maple Leafs such as Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin, offered his perspective on the transition.

Based on his experiences, Clark believes the group should always be over the individual, thus praising John Tavares' decision to hand out the "C" to Matthews and the latter's abilities to lead Toronto's team.

“John’s watched Auston grow and wants to help his teammate," Clark said. "But John’s not changing how he plays or prepares, and Auston doesn’t want him to. The letter doesn’t change the person; the reason you got the letter was because of the person you are.

“It takes a group of leaders; Auston getting the ‘C’ is not one thing."

Clark also said that building a strong relationship is key for teammates to succeed on the ice while recalling his own situation in Toronto.

“I never needed to walk on eggshells around my successors, and it seems like the same camaraderie exists here,” he said.

The former captain removed some importance from the fact of having to carry the "C" on one's chest. He believes there is a bit of a misunderstanding of that, as it's often given more weight than it has.

“It’s a little more focal point on him now because he has that letter. But it’s just a letter,” Clark said.

Speaking at the event announcing him as the 26th captain in Maple Leafs history on August 14, Matthews said he was emotional when he received the call from Tavares informing him of his decision.

“I was shaking. I had chills,” Matthews said. “For [Tavares] to call me…to pass on the captaincy to me, it was very emotional. I felt a lot of things, but it’s truly an honor.”

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