Former NHLer reveals who he thinks is the NHL's best active goal scorer; spoiler alert - it's 34 and the pace he's on is ridiculous
The NHL has showcased a significant amount of elite goal scorers over generations and it's safe to say that, as of this moment, Auston Matthews is one of the best there is - if not THE best. He is a back-to-back Rocket Richard trophy winner and recently added the Hart and Ted Lindsay award to his list of achievements. During a recent "After the Whistle" podcast, former NHLer Jeremy Roenick said that while Alex Ovechkin is the best goal scorer that he has ever seen, he believes that Matthews has overtaken Ovechkin at this stage in their respective careers as the best active goal scorer.
When someone thinks of the greatest goal scorers to ever play in the NHL, it's impossible to exclude Ovechkin from that list. The longtime Washington Capitals captain has three Hart, three Ted Lindsay and nine Rocket Richard trophies, not to mention many other awards and All-Star nominations. He has 780 goals in 1,274 games played and probably won't stop until he passes Wayne Gretzky's 894 regular season goals record. But can Matthews be considered in that caliber?
Matthews, who also happens to share the same birthday with Ovechkin, has 259 goals in 407 games played at just 25 years old. That's a .636 goals per game pace. If he can maintain that pace during the rest of his prime years and play 1,400-1,500 games, even with some later career regression, he could be in the same ballpark as Ovechkin, in terms of chasing Gretzky's goals record - which may then belong to Ovechkin. That's insane to think about.
Ladies and gentlemen, right now we could very well be watching the greatest Maple Leaf to ever play the game and I don't think that's getting enough attention.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 5 | 671 ANSWERS Former NHLer reveals who he thinks is the NHL's best active goal scorer; spoiler alert - it's 34 and the pace he's on is ridiculous Do you think Matthews is currently the best goal scorer in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 500 | 74.5 % |
| No | 105 | 15.6 % |
| He could be one day, but not yet | 66 | 9.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
