Maple Leafs officially passing the torch, making Auston Matthews captain

After a season in which Auston Matthews recorded a career high 69 goals and 107 points, he was unable to play in multiple playoff games of the Leafs' Round 1 series against the Boston Bruins due to an unspecified illness and an unspecified injury. In the end, the Bruins skated on to the 2nd round, which meant changes were all but certain for Toronto this summer.

On top of the coaching change, shifting from Sheldon Keefe, Manny Malhotra, Dean Chynoweth and Guy Boucher to Craig Berube, Marc Savard and Lane Lambert, the Leafs addressed key roster needs on the blueline and in goal with the additions of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Anthony Stolarz. However, it appears as though they have opted to keep the core together, albeit with one big change. John Tavares will no longer wear the "C", passing the captaincy along to franchise cornerstone Auston Matthews.

TSN's Darren Dreger dropped the bombshell on Monday evening, confirming that not only is Tavares aware of the change -- he fully endorsed Matthews for captain.

Tavares is entering the final year of a 7-year, $77M deal, while Matthews is entering the 1st year of his new 4-year deal, which will see him earn a league-high $13.25M this season.

With JT's future uncertain in Toronto, it does make sense for him to take a step back and help usher in a new era in Toronto, handing off the C to Matthews in a "passing of the torch" moment. Only fitting that it happens as the Paris Olympics have come to a close.

Matthews has lit the league on fire since being drafted 1st overall in 2016. Nobody has scored more goals than Matthews since he entered the league, and it's about time he was recognized as not only one of the greatest players of this eras, but now one of the greatest leaders as well.

Matthews is all business, both on and off the ice, and I count myself among those excited to see what he can do with the C stitched next to his heart, because he is without a doubt the heart of this team.

The announcement is expected to be made official on Wednesday at 11:00am ET, per TSN's Chris Johnston. Matthews will be the 26th captain in Maple Leafs franchise history.