Key figure missing at Auston Matthews' captaincy event raises red flags

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Daniel Lucente
August 15, 2024 (12:29)

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Most of the key players for the Toronto Maple Leafs were present at Auston Matthews' captaincy acceptance speech, except for William Nylander.

Many current and former Toronto Maple Leaf players joined yesterday's press conference where Auston Matthews was introduced as the new captain of the team. In attendance were of course John Tavares, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly.

There was one notable absense at the press conference, and that was William Nylander.

Many fans and experts felt that Nylander should have received an "A" on his jersey due to the fact that he committed to be with the team for eight years, just like Morgan Reilly did. No other players are locked up that long on the team. Many are led to believe that Nylander will not be receiving an "A" for next season as an alternate captain since he wasn't at the press conference.

Morgan Reilly will likely remain as one of the alternate captains, and now John Tavares will be joining him in that category. Mitch Marner is another interesting one to keep an eye on, as he has been criticized a lot for not being present when the games matter most, so many feel he doesn't have the leadership qualities needed to earn an "A" on his jersey. He is also in the final year of his contract and there is talk the Leafs don't have the money to re-sign him.

There are still roughly four or five weeks until training camps begin, so we will likely get a little more clarity on who the other alternate captains will be within the next few weeks. It's definitely concerning that William Nylander wasn't in attendance for such an important ceremony. Maybe he has some info that others don't, such as him already knowing he won't be getting an "A".

Before everyone begins to jump the gun, let's all keep in mind that there could be a multitude of reasons as to why William Nylander wasn't in attendance, from not being able to catch a flight in time to possibly dealing with personal family issues. From an outsiders perspective however, it definitely isn't a good look.