How the Leafs surprised John Tavares with The Great Captaincy Caper

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On Sunday, Kyle Dubas texted John Tavares. The Maple Leafs general manager asked his star centre to drop by the team’s offices at Scotiabank Arena the following day to discuss a few things.

Tavares found the request unusual but did not give it much thought. The season-opener was a few days away. For the organization, this is a monumental year.

At about the same time, Leanne Hederson, the executive assistant to Dubas, quietly reached out to Tavares’s wife, Aryne Fuller. She let her in on a secret that was keeping hockey fans in Toronto spellbound: In a few days, Tavares would be appointed the Maple Leafs captain.

Would Aryne participate in a well-orchestrated plot the team had cooked up to surprise him?

Of course, she would, and so would their infant son Jace, who was born on Sept. 11.

With that, the Great Captaincy Caper was hatched.

On Monday, Aryne told her husband she had plans for the day.

“She said she was going shopping with my mother,” Tavares said.

Instead, Aryne and the baby, the couple’s first child, rushed downtown. The Maple Leafs hid them away in the office of Brendan Shanahan, the team’s president and alternate governor. As Jace squirmed, Aryne dressed him in a tiny blue and white captain’s sweater.

At one point, Shanahan picked up Jace, cradled him, and tried to burp him. Jace, perhaps showing the tenacity of a future grinder, refused to oblige.

As they waited for Tavares to arrive, Dubas and head coach Mike Babcock fussed over the newborn and snapped pictures with their phones.

Eventually, Dubas went out and escorted the unsuspecting player into the room where Aryne, Jace and the others were convened.

“We brought a special guest to deliver you a special message,” Dubas said as he led Tavares through the door. “Congratulations on becoming the 25th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Tavares, the first captain the team has appointed in three years and only its third in 20, smiled broadly.

“That is a hell of a surprise,” he said.

He exchanged hugs and handshakes with Dubas and Babcock and kissed Aryne. Then he leaned over and smooched Jace on the head.

“I have to share [the captaincy] with the big guy,” Tavares said of the baby. “It looks good on you, bud.”

Tavares served as captain of the New York Islanders for five years before joining the Maple Leafs in July of 2018 in the biggest free-agent signing in club history. The team knew since this summer that it was going to pick a captain – the only question was who. Morgan Rielly and Auston Matthews were the other candidates.

Tavares has more experience, is even-keeled and carries himself with quiet dignity. He understands how significant the job is – especially in the NHL’s most important market.

“It is a real honour,” said Tavares, who was born in Mississauga and grew up as a Maple Leafs fan. “I will never take it for granted.”

Dubas told him that nothing more was expected from him than what he was already doing.

“Just continue to be who you are,” the GM said.

The Maple Leafs waited until Wednesday night to reveal that Tavares had been chosen. He was the last player to skate out during pregame introductions and came out wearing the C on his jersey. At the same time, the team posted a video from Monday’s surprise reveal on Twitter.

It has already been viewed more than 200,000 times.

Steve Keogh, the director of media relations for the Maple Leafs, said the team wanted to do something extraordinary to fit the occasion.

“We were brainstorming for a week, trying to think of a way to make it special,” Keogh said. "John is a new dad and a proud father and suddenly, for us, a light bulb went off.

“Why not do something with his family that he will remember for the rest of his life?”

It was a smashing success.

“I will never forget that moment,” Tavares said Thursday before the team left for its game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets on Friday night. The Maple Leafs are home on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. “It was just amazing to have my wife and son be a part of it.

“When I saw the jersey on Jace, it was unreal. It really hit home big-time.”

Tavares has already forgiven Aryne for her Monday morning trickery. The couple has been married since August of 2018 but were long-time companions before that.

“She knew I was captain before me,” he said. “It must have been killing her inside."