Morgan Rielly has revealed how he truly feels about the whole John Tavares captaincy situation, and he's very happy with how the former captain handled it all. The Toronto Maple Leafs recently made a major change in leadership, as they stripped the captaincy away from John Tavares and handed it to <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-to-take-over-captaincy-from-john-tavares/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Auston Matthews</a> instead, who will now become the 26th captain in franchise history. A few weeks before this happened, GM Brad Treliving of the Leafs also changed the team's coach, as Sheldon Keefe, who is now the head coach of the New Jersey Devils, was let go, and replaced with former St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube. The organization is hoping that a new coach and new captain can finally help them get over the playoff hump, as they were yet again eliminated in the first round to the Boston Bruins in May. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/flapprdotnet/status/1783312781938217138'> </a></blockquote></div> Defenseman of the Leafs Morgan Rielly, who was drafted by the team 5th overall back in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, recently spoke out about how he feels regarding the John Tavares situation, and he said that the former captain handled it with pure class. <q>I think when this came about there were some challenges for him, but, I think he's handled everything like the class act that he is, Rielly said. I had a chance to speak with him, and the first thing that I felt was, how well he's handling it. His view on things, as this has kinda come about, he's been outstanding, but that's no surprise to anyone, he continued. I think it speaks volumes about who John is as a person and where his priorities lie. I think, for him, the only thing that really matters is our team and the results we're able to get during the season and what's best for our group.</q> Morgan Rielly also said he is super excited to welcome Auston Matthews as the team's new captain, and said there is a ton of responsibility to be captaining an Original 6 franchise. <q>As a person and a teammate, we have had the opportunity to watch him grow, watch him mature over the last eight or nine years, he said. So you know, I think he's extremely excited, and I think he's prepared this role, this next chapter, I think it's a great opportunity for our team to move forward. So, we're all very excited for him.»</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/CoolHockey/status/1823773858564071723'> </a></blockquote></div> Auston Matthews is no doubt going to be a fantastic captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was drafted by the team in 2016 as the 1st overall pick, and has played all 562 NHL games with the Leafs, having scored 368 goals and adding 281 assists for 649 points. His playoff numbers are somewhere he will definitely look to improve on next season, as in his 55 career playoff games, he sits under the point per game threshold with 48 points. Source: Hockey Feed <a href='https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/morgan-rielly-shares-true-feelings-over-john-tavares-losing-captaincy?fbclid=IwY2xjawEveX5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZHfs84klXHwD8TZ2RIAbkz6wv2sHqLaOPJ5wdzBQTE2blw3ONw-WZwYUQ_aem_u17rHip8Kz04zEHywlg4yw' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Morgan Rielly shares true feelings over John Tavares losing captaincy</a> Source: HockeyDB <a href='https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=170320' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Auston Matthews Stats</a>