Auston Matthews' captaincy ceremony featured a concerning absence

Matthews was taking the captaincy from John Tavares, who was more than okay with taking the demotion to assistant captain. Many of Matthews' teammates were in attendance, including Morgan Reilly and Mitch Marner. However, there was one omission from the attendance that was a bit surprising. That player would be William Nylander.

As you can imagine, this has some fans wondering what is going on? A prevailing theory could have to do with Nylander being passed up as one of the assistant captains. However, that is pure conjecture at this point. There are millions of reasons why Nylander wasn't able to attend yesterday's ceremony. It is the offseason, and these players have incredibly busy lives.

The assistant captains for next year will consist of Morgan Reilly and John Tavares. As for Mitch Marner and Nylander, it remains to be seen if they will also get the "A." No matter what, this Maple Leafs team has some pretty big expectations being placed on them. Fans want to see results, and if those results don't happen, then there could be consequences.

Let us know if you believe Auston Matthews will be a good captain, in the comments section down below. Additionally, stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world.

Source: Hockey Patrol
Key figure missing at Auston Matthews' captaincy event raises red flags