Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one month away from setting a new franchise record
Back in 1976, Leafs icons Lanny McDonald and Darryl Sittler were seemingly unstoppable, racking up 112 and 111 points, respectively, over the course of a 365-day span from January 1st through December 31st. This record has stood untouched for nearly 5 decades. Now, however, that record is finally about to be broken by another set of Leafs teammates in Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
It's crazy to think that no pair of Leafs teammates has produced over 100 points in a calendar year other than these two duos in this team's storied history. For McDonald and Sittler, two of the greatest Leafs of all-time, they had the luxury of playing in an era where goaltenders weren't nearly as developed. They also had the challenges of playing in an era that would basically be "prison rules" by today's standards. For Matthews and Marner, they have the luxury of playing in an era where equipment technology is far superior and where systems and strategies are far more developed. They also face challenges, however, as goaltenders are bigger, more athletic and cover more of the net than they ever have before.
Matthews is currently sitting at 105 points in this current calendar year, while Marner reached 100 with his record-tying empty-net goal on Wednesday to tie Sittler and Olczyk for the longest point streak in franchise history at 18 games. They still have a month (12 games) with which to work in order to break the record set by McDonald and Sittler back in '76.
Both Marner and Matthews are over a point per game this season, so if they can even produce at a point per game, Matthews would finish 2022 with 117 points, while Marner would finish with 112 points. If they score at the same rate that they have each been scoring at during the 2022-23 season so far, Matthews would finish 2022 at 118 points, while Marner would finish at 114 points. If they score at the rate in which they've produced within this calendar year, however, Matthews would finish 2022 at 122 points and Marner would finish at 117 points.
We could very well be witnessing greatness in the making, as Matthews and Marner could be the next two Leafs legends by the time all is said and done. It's easy to look back at legends like Sittler, McDonald, Sundin and the late, great Borje Salming and think that they'll never be touched, but the fact of the matter is that in 50 years, we could be looking back at Matthews and Marner with the highest regard as well. That's the funny thing about history. You can live it and not know that it's history in the making, but only once enough time has passed do you realize how special something was. We should all do our best to appreciate what we're seeing from Matthews and Marner, because they truly are special players.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 2 | 294 ANSWERS Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are one month away from setting a new franchise record Are Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner going to go down as all-time great Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 270 | 91.8 % |
| No | 15 | 5.1 % |
| Marner only | 8 | 2.7 % |
| Matthews only | 1 | 0.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
