Don Cherry buries the Toronto Maple Leafs for stripping the captaincy away from John Tavares
On his podcast, Don Cherry criticized the Toronto Maple Leafs for removing the captaincy from John Tavares and giving it to Auston Matthews.
After another first-round playoff exit, the Leafs made big changes. General Manager Brad Treliving and President Brendan Shanahan decided to shake things up by replacing both the head coach and the captain. Sheldon Keefe was replaced by Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube, and John Tavares was replaced by Matthews as captain. Most of the hockey world saw these changes positively.
Keefe's departure seemed inevitable after years of playoff struggles. Many believe that Berube, who led the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup win in 2018, could be the coach to bring the Leafs their first championship since 1967.
However, the decision to give Matthews the captaincy sparked more debate. While Matthews is a top player in the NHL and Tavares' future in Toronto is uncertain due to his contract, some thought stripping the captaincy from Tavares wasn't fair.
Don Cherry voiced his disagreement on his podcast Grapevine.
It's all up to Matthews now."
Although Tavares appeared to accept the decision, Matthews is clearly the team's leader and face of the franchise. Cherry might be right in saying "something's wrong," but this change could be a necessary step for the Leafs to move forward.
