Tavares passed on the Maple Leafs captaincy to Matthews, who became the 26th captain in the organization's history.
Mitch Marner wasn't interested in answering questions about his future when the Maple Leafs unveiled Auston Matthews as their next captain on Wednesday.
Four Maple Leafs players, including Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, and Mitch Marner fielded questions from reporters on Wednesday morning. Most of the queries to the players were about the captaincy change and what it meant for the organization.
However, with his future with Toronto still hanging in the balance after this year, Marner was asked about his commitment to being a Maple Leafs player for the foreseeable future.
"I'm not going to get into that too much today. I love being here. I've said that from day one," Marner said. "I'm very fortunate and lucky to be a Maple Leaf. Today's about these two amazing people beside me and that's what I'm going to speak on."
The 27-year-old's offseason has been a bit of a rollercoaster. It began when Toronto was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Questions rose about whether Marner, who's entering the final year of his contract, would remain with the Maple Leafs.
Those questions cooled when new Toronto head coach Craig Berube said he was excited to coach the forward.
He also hosted the annual Marner All-Star Invitational in early July. The two-day event — which helps raise money for the Marner Assist Foundation — has had media in attendance each year. However, while certain media was allowed to cover the event this year, no hockey questions were permitted.
Marner is entering the final season of a six-year, $65.41 million deal he signed before the 2019-20 season. He had 26 goals and 59 assists in 69 games with the Maple Leafs this year.
The forward missed a month of action late in the season due to a high-ankle sprain. Marner was healthy for the playoffs and scored one goal and two assists in seven games against the Boston Bruins in the first round.
