Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Murray, Berggren

The Maple Leafs shook things up behind the bench with a coaching change, bringing in Craig Berube to replace Sheldon Keefe earlier this summer.  Now, it appears they’ll be changing their captain as well.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the team will announce that Auston Matthews will be named captain at a press conference on Wednesday morning.  Current captain John Tavares is believed to be fully supportive of the change.  Matthews is entering the first season of a four-year, $53MM contract he signed last season, one that makes him the highest-paid player in NHL history in terms of AAV while Tavares is entering the final year of his agreement.  Matthews has spent his entire eight-year NHL career with Toronto and is coming off a career year that saw him record 69 goals and 107 points.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

• Still with Toronto, goaltender Matt Murray indicated in a recent appearance on the Slangin’ the Bizkit Podcast (video link) that his hips feel much better than they have in a long time. The veteran missed almost all of last season due to bilateral hip surgery, only getting into three rehab contests late in the regular season with the Marlies.  The Maple Leafs gave him a one-year, $875K one-way deal early in free agency and it appears as if he’ll enter the upcoming season in the third-string role similar to the one Martin Jones held in 2023-24.
• In an interview with Matthias Ek of Sweden’s Hockey News, Red Wings RFA winger Jonatan Berggren indicated that discussions on a new deal are ongoing and that he has not spoken with any other clubs about a possible offer sheet. The 24-year-old spent most of 2022-23 with Detroit, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 67 games but they opted to put him with AHL Grand Rapids for most of last year.  Berggren was quite productive for the Griffins, tallying 56 points in 53 games while also adding six points in a dozen contests with Detroit.  That shouldn’t be the case this coming season, however, as he’s now waiver-eligible.