Matthews voted as Atlantic division captain for 2019 All-Star Game

Now his third-consecutive all-star appearance, Auston Matthews will be heading to San Jose to captain the Atlantic division in the 2019 All-Star game.

Even by fan vote, Matthews is deserving of this nomination. Scoring an unreal 19 goals in just 23 games and adding 15 assists to that total, he is on track for an absolutely insane season. Even after missing 14 games to injury, Matthews will most likely beat his career-high 69 points this season.

Joining him from the Leafs will most likely be one or both of Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner. Both are surely deserving but as Chris Johnston points out, there are so few spots remaining for a stacked Atlantic division.

Unfortunately, the league still mandates that at least one player from each team must be present for the event. Otherwise, you could probably name at least five players from this Leafs team that deserves the trip to San Jose.

The 2019 All-Star game will be at the SAP Center in San Jose, starting on Saturday, January 26th. Full of skill competitions and finishing with the 3-on-3 game, this event provides at least one viral moment per year.