Auston Matthews is about to re-write the Leafs' record books
If there's one thing I never get tired of writing about, its Auston Matthews' unbelievable play over the last few years. We've watched a rookie sensation grow into a 2-way monster and a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate. In Auston Matthews' sixth season in the NHL, he's beginning to make his mark on the history books.
As Matthews is sitting on 49 goals, the math for this one is easy, he needs to bury one more puck to hit the 50-goal mark. He would be the first Leaf since Dave Andreychuk in 1993-94 to reach the plateau. This one should have been in the books 2 years ago and is a foregone conclusion. Matthews was robbed of the 50 goal mark 2 years in a row by COVID-shortened seasons. No Leaf has ever hit the 60 goal mark, but Matthews needs 11 more to be the first. That's a very realistic possibility.
Another milestone Matthews is chasing is the 250 goals mark. He is currently sitting on 248, so 2 more goals in the Leafs' 16 remaining games will get him there. Only 9 Leafs in franchise history share that honour. I'd imagine Matthews becomes #10 before the week is out.
Looking at the Leafs' all-time goal scoring list, Matthews is currently in 10th, 3 goals behind Bob Pulford, and 12 behind fan favourite, Wendel Clark. If he keeps scoring at the rate he has been since Christmas, he'll pass both. Matthews has some work to do to match Mats Sundin's 420 goals to lead the Leafs in all-time scoring. The crazy thing is, it took Sundin 981 games to score those 420 goals. Matthews is on pace to match him in just 668 games. That's 312 games faster than the greatest Leaf of all time.
Next up on the list is Rick Vaive's single season goals record of 54. Again, Matthews has been on pace to beat that mark in each of the last 2 seasons. This season with 16 games remaining, he needs only more 5 goals to tie him and 6 to take sole possession of the franchise record.
At this rate, the only thing that will hold Matthews back from becoming the greatest Leaf of all time is playoff success. He needs to lead the Leafs on a couple of playoff runs and maybe, just maybe, a Stanley Cup run to see his number raised to the rafters and his statue in bronze in front of Scotiabank Arena. For now, he has 16 games to check a few of the boxes listed here. To check the big one, he will need to sign an extension with the Leafs.
| POLL | ||
30 MARS | 428 ANSWERS Auston Matthews is about to re-write the Leafs' record books Will Matthews sign an extension with the Leafs before he becomes eligible for free agency? | ||
| Definitely | 254 | 59.3 % |
| I have my doubts | 67 | 15.7 % |
| No way! He'll go back to the States | 50 | 11.7 % |
| I don't even want to think about Matthews as a UFA | 57 | 13.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
