TORONTO (AP) — Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, the NHL's leading goal scorer in three of the past four seasons, was named Toronto's captain on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Matthews succeeds John Tavares, who had worn the “C” for the Maple Leafs since 2019 and is set to become a free agent next summer. Matthews signed a four-year, $53 million extension a year ago that kicks in this season.
“I got chills, honestly. I'm so honored and humbled,” Matthews said at a news conference. “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 night.
“It just means the world.”
Tavares attended the news conference and said he supported the move. The 33-year-old said he called Matthews in late July to inform him of the captaincy switch.
“You’re talking about one of the best players in the game of hockey,” Tavares said. “It’s amazing how he pushes the team, I think a lot of times without even himself realizing it, you can tell how he inspires others with his talent, work ethic.”
Matthews scored a career-best 69 goals last season. The center also won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer in 2021 and 2022 and won the Hart Trophy as MVP in ’22.
Now the Maple Leafs are hoping he can lead the team to its first Stanley Cup since 1967. In April, the Leafs lost in the first round of the playoffs for the sixth time in eight seasons, a seven-game defeat to Boston in which Matthews was limited by injury and scored just one goal.
“People want to follow him. He walks into a room and people are gravitating to him,” Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said. “We’ve had the distinct pleasure to be led by John for the last number of years, a great captain.
“I couldn’t think of a better person for him to bestow this honor on and pass on to than Auston.”
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Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, left, hands the captains jersey to Maple Leafs new captain Auston Matthews in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, left, hands the captains jersey to Maple Leafs new captain Auston Matthews in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares, left, hands the captains jersey to Maple Leafs new captain Auston Matthews in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)
LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — A massive pipeline fire in suburban Houston was shooting a giant plume of fire into the air for more than two hours on Monday as first-responders evacuated a surrounding neighborhood where some homes have caught fire.
The fire began at 9:55 a.m. with an explosion that rattled nearby homes in Deer Park and La Porte, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of downtown Houston, long the energy capital of the U.S.
“All of a sudden we hear this loud bang and then I see something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that’s outside,” said Geselle Melina Guerra, 25, a La Porte resident. She and her boyfriend live in a mobile home within the evacuation area. They were having breakfast when they heard the explosion close to 9:30 a.m. Guerra’s boyfriend, Jairo Sanchez, 26, woke up his brother and they ran to their car.
“I was just freaking out, pacing around the living room, not really knowing what to do or what was happening. I thought maybe it was an airplane that had crashed down by our house,” Guerra said.
La Porte city spokesperson Lee Woodward told KTRK-TV that they don’t yet know what flows through the pipeline or how it will be shut down. People in nearby schools were told to shelter in place as law enforcement blocked off a wide area.
It wasn't immediately clear what companies operate the infrastructure involved. At least one gas transmission pipeline and one hazardous liquid pipeline run through the area on fire, according to U.S. Department of Transportation geographic data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Another gas transmission pipeline cuts diagonally through a nearby residential neighborhood along Spencer Highway, which runs through the suburbs of Deer Park and La Porte.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries, plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight to residents in Texas’ largest city, including some that have been deadly. The blasts have raised recurring questions about the adequacy of the industry’s plans to protect the public and the impacts of environmental damage.
Video images from KTRK showed a park near the fire had been damaged and firefighters pouring water on adjacent homes. By noon, at least a couple of homes appeared to have caught fire, with smoke pouring from their roofs. There are also several businesses nearby, including a Walmart.
Sanchez said they’re used to evacuations because they live close to other plants near the highway. But in the 10 years Sanchez has lived there, he had not witnessed an explosion.
“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said from a parked car at a gas station near his college.
Officials have ordered residents in the Brookglen neighborhood area near the fire to evacuate, Woodward said in an email.
“Please avoid the area and follow law enforcement direction. Further details will be released as available,” Woodward said.
There are several high voltage power lines near the fire. The website PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power in Harris County.
CenterPoint Energy said it is monitoring the fire, which is near Spencer Highway in LaPorte. The company said the fire “is unrelated to the company’s natural gas operations or equipment.”
“We are also cooperating with first responders. Putting safety first, the public should avoid this area until further notice from local emergency officials. When it is safe to do so, our electric crews will go into the area to assess the damage to our transmission and distribution power lines, poles and equipment and begin restoring service to impacted customers as safely and quickly as possible.”
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AP reporter Christopher L. Keller contributed to this report from Albuquerque, New Mexico
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
Firefighters work on the scene of a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A burned vehicle sits near a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
