Report: Leafs rolling with four assistant captains this upcoming season

According to multiple online reports, the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have named their four assistant captains to serve alongside captain John Tavares as the team's leadership group for 2021-22.

The Leafs' captains this season will be:

• John Tavares - Captain
• Auston Matthews - Assistant Captain
• Mitch Marner - Assistant Captain
• Morgan Rielly - Assistant Captain
• Jake Muzzin - Assistant Captain

All four of these players have served as Assistant Captain for the team at various points over the past few seasons.

Frankly, I feel that Jason Spezza deserves to wear an "A" on his chest this season also, but there's a good chance that he'll end up being a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this upcoming season. Also, it's hard to argue against taking the "A" away from any of the team's four assistant captains. Sure you could make the argument that Matthews and Marner are maybe a bit young for such prominent leadership roles, but they are two players who have seemingly handled the pressure of playing in Toronto reasonably well. Sure, Marner has had his difficulties, especially come playoff time, but the fact of the matter is that he's an elite player in the NHL, playing in his hometown and taking over the top criticism from an entire fanbase. If anyone knows how tough it can be for a Leafs player, it's Marner. If nothing else, he'll add a unique perspective to the team's leadership group.

As for the team's captain... well Tavares is the obvious choice still, right? Despite still not getting past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you don't hear many Leafs fans calling for Tavares to be stripped of the "C". That's because he's a respected veteran who bleeds Leafs blue and white. I realize that he's not exactly the most popular man in Long Island, New York but literally almost every other team in the NHL would love to have him and most teams would name him their captain without a second thought. With some strong veterans like Rielly, Muzzin and Spezza to lean on, I expect that Tavares won't have to do much talking in the Leafs' dressing room this season, however.