LAS VEGAS -- Auston Matthews is a perfect fit as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and this is a perfect time for the center to assume the responsibility of the "C" in a crazy hockey market, according to players who know him and the job well.
"I'm super happy for him," said Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who played with Matthews for the Maple Leafs from 2019-23 and spoke at the NHL European Player Media Tour in Prague on Aug. 21. "He deserves it, I think. He's a leader, for sure, in the way he plays and also off the ice.
"He takes care of himself like a true professional. He eats really good. He takes care of his body really well, treatment all the time. He really does everything right, and I feel like he could have been captain a while ago too, so I think it was a matter of time when he got the 'C.'"
Maybe Matthews could have been captain a while ago, but Toronto named him captain Aug. 14, and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said there is a big difference in waiting until now.
Matthews is mature, experienced, accomplished, in his prime. He will turn 27 on Sept. 17. He has played eight seasons in the NHL. He has won the Calder Trophy, voted the rookie of the year in 2016-17; the Hart Trophy, voted the most valuable player in 2021-22; and the Rocket Richard Trophy, leading the League in goals in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2023-24. He's coming off a season when he set NHL career highs in goals (69) and points (107).
"First and foremost, he's an amazing player, great player, but he's a great person, highly intelligent, loves the game, loves the Leafs," McDavid said at the NHL North American Media Tour in Las Vegas on Tuesday. "I think he's a great captain."
Matthews has the right personality to be captain in Toronto. He should wear the C as well as he wears everything else.
"He's definitely got a little bit more style than maybe I do, and Toronto's a stylish city," McDavid said with a smile. "I think he represents the city great and the team."
The hype doesn't seem to bother him.
"He lives up to the hype," Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller said at the NAPMT on Wednesday. "He's comfortable with it. He blocks out the noise, and he does what he does, so I think he's going to be a great leader and captain for the Leafs, for sure."
The heat doesn't seem to bother him, either.
"I think he's perfect for that role, because I think you can't have a captain in a market like that to bother too much about what other people say," Sandin said. "I think he knows how good he is as a player, and he knows what to do in the locker room to get everyone's best out of themselves. Yeah, he's a perfect match there."
Matthews said over time he has learned how to deal with it.
"I care about what my teammates think of me, what my family thinks about me," Matthews said at the NAPMT on Monday. "Respectfully, people can write or say what they want, but in the end, I can't control that, so I don't think it should necessarily be something that I pay or give too much attention towards."
Matthews said he has become more comfortable speaking up in the locker room but won't be too vocal.
"I don't think it's really in my nature, and I think my teammates know that too, so I think it has to be authentic," he said. "Definitely pick my spots."
Bottom line: Matthews said his leadership approach will be "setting the standard," and that's what he does already.
"It's trying to get something out of it no matter what it is," he said. "That's how I try to approach the game, how I approach life in general."
He does it in practice.
"He leads," Sandin said. "When he goes hard, I can't go 50 percent."
He does it even in the summer.
"He's never going through the motions," said Keller, who has skated with Matthews in the offseason for years in Scottsdale, Arizona. "He's always trying to score. He's always trying to do everything with a purpose and to get better every single day.
"That's something that I've definitely noticed skating with him so much and hanging out with him a lot in the summers. He definitely puts the work in, and you see why the success follows."
Matthews said he looks at the captaincy more as a responsibility than a challenge.
"I think of the former captains that have come before, the former players that have paved the way and worn the Maple Leaf," he said. "It is such an honor to represent the team and Toronto as a city and the organization, the rich history that it has.
"To me, it's just, never taking that for granted and showing up every day and just trying to be the best version of myself. Nobody's going to be perfect. You're going to have ups and downs, but I'm just trying to approach it the same and with a good attitude."
