The Toronto Maple Leafs underwent a series of major changes in leadership during the offseason following their latest postseason opening-round setback.

To begin with, they terminated head coach Sheldon Keefe and replaced him with 2019 Stanley Cup-winning bench boss Craig Berube, who led the St. Louis Blues to their first-ever title. Additionally, John Tavares ceded the captaincy to Auston Matthews after five years; Matthews became the first American-born captain of the Maple Leafs in franchise history.

The Maple Leafs will play for the first time in the young 2024-25 NHL season in front of their home fans at Scotiabank Arena, facing off against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Captain Sidney Crosby, who assumed Pittsburgh's captaincy in his sophomore season of 2006-07, shared some critical advice for Matthews ahead of the matchup, via MSN:

“I think it’s just important to be yourself,” Crosby said. “Here, everything is magnified that much more. There’s always pressure being a captain, but here, I think you just got to be yourself. There’s going to be lots of experiences to learn from.

“No matter how long you’ve done it or where you are, you’re always learning. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

The Leafs and Penguins will get underway starting at 7:00 PM EST.

Auston Matthews is the first American-born captain in Leafs history 

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The reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's leading goal scorer last season with an astounding 69 tallies, Matthews isn't taking the responsibility of assuming Toronto's captaincy lightly, via NHL.com.

“I got chills, honestly,” Matthews said about being named captain. “I'm so honored and humbled since being drafted here eight years ago. You realize how special it is to play for the city of Toronto, to wear the Maple Leaf on your chest every single night. It just means the world to do that.

To have the support from Johnny, my teammates, our staff, ownership, my family, it just means the world to me. I look forward to continuing our journey to obviously get to the top of the mountain and win the Stanley Cup and bring it back to Toronto.”

Through the first two games of the season, Matthews is still looking for his first appearance on the scoresheet. But with his talent, it won't be long.