'Now There Won't Be Any Deferential Treatment': What, If Anything, Will Change With Auston Matthews as Captain of the Maple Leafs?

When the Toronto Maple Leafs named Auston Matthews as their 26th captain in franchise history last week, they team and player made a point to say that not much will change as far as what happens on the ice.

The Leafs usually operate within a group of leaders. You hear about it all the time that when there is a message that needs to be communicated throughout the club, at times it is first discussed with the 'leadership group', which of course Matthews already a part of.

So what might really change?

"The one element that could change—maybe for the better if you can imagine that for Auston Matthews, I don’t know how much better Auston Matthews can get—maybe being better in the room is that he is so respectful of older players older players, veterans, guys who've been there before, John Tavares, that maybe he bit his tongue on occasion or was quieter on occasion, deferring to Tavares and his leadership,' Johnson said. "Now there will be no deferential treatment because he is the guy that is supposed to stand up and say whatever he feels should be said in that moment. That might be the only difference in the room."