Don Cherry thinks the Toronto Maple Leafs made a major mistake by naming Auston Matthews captain

John Tavares was captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past five seasons and the team won one playoff round. Many factors can be identified to explain that issue, but it looks obvious that with all the talent on their lineup, the problem wasn't on the ice.

Outside the rink, something was wrong. President Brendan Shanahan and General Manager Brad Treliving had to do something. After failing to reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs again, management fired Sheldon Keefe and hired Craig Berube. They also decided to remove Tavares' captaincy and gave it to Auston Matthews.

These decisions weren't made lightly. At 34 years old, Tavares, who's on the last season of his $11 million AAV contract, spent some time thinking about it but knew right away that this move had to be done when Treliving and Shanahan proposed the idea.

Despite a smooth transition, and knowing Tavares will still be able to bring his leadership to the Leafs for the season, some people are struggling to accept the change.

That's Don Cherry's case.

The controversial former CBC analyst mentioned in his podcast that he doesn't care what everyone says, it's still a slap in the face.

Check it out:

It might have been hard for Tavares at first, but I don't think he ever considered the change to be a "slap in the face". He knows his place, and what Matthews brings to the team. Like everyone else in Toronto, Tavares wants to win a Stanley Cup and made a decision knowing that this could help the team achieve that goal.

Cherry is right, however. Now, it's up to Matthews to lead the team to the promised land.