Matthews' goal pace for Maple Leafs should drive him to Hart Trophy

Get the latest from Terry Koshan straight to your inbox

Article content

Auston Matthews for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Advertisement 2

Article content

It happened two years ago and there’s little reason it shouldn’t happen again this year for the superstar Maple Leafs centre, considering the ridiculous goal-scoring pace he has set.

Article content

That would be the pace that Matthews carried into the Leafs’ road game on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, one that would see the 26-year-old finish with 76 goals, the same total Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne each had during the 1992-93 season, the most recent time a National Hockey League player hit the 70-goal milestone.

With 51 goals in 54 games, Matthews was erasing any debate as to whether he should be under serious consideration for the Hart, awarded to the NHL player deemed most valuable to his team. 

Matthews had scored 25.6% of the Leafs’ 199 goals prior to the showdown in Sin City, and with 75 points, had factored on 37.7% of Toronto’s goals.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

Of Matthews’ 51 goals, 26 were at five-on-five, the most in the NHL. Next on that list were Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers with 23 five-on-five goals and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche with 22. 

The idea that Matthews wins the Hart Trophy if he scores 70 or more goals takes nothing away from the seasons that MacKinnon, Connor McDavid of the Oilers and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning are enjoying. Each has factored on a greater percentage of his team’s goals than Matthews. But none of them were running away with the overall NHL scoring title, and in that race, Matthews was no slouch, moving into fifth place through games on Wednesday. 

There are other factors with Matthews’ goals to take into consideration. None were scored on an opposition’s empty net with the goalie pulled. Before Thursday, no other NHL player had 40 goals. And Matthews was second in power-play goals with 15.

Advertisement 4

Article content

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

At the least, Matthews appears to be well on his way to winning the Rocket Richard Trophy for the third time in four years.

There’s little arguing with Matthews’ game as a whole. He had 54 blocked shots at five-on-five prior to Thursday, good for second-most among NHL forwards. He had 45 takeaways, fifth-most among forwards (and just 29 giveaways, with 24 forwards committing more). He was 53.4% on faceoffs.

And Matthews does it all while playing a positionally sound game with no element of cheating. His penalty total before the game in Vegas amounted to four minutes for two tripping minors — one against Carolina on Dec. 30 and another against the New York Islanders on Jan. 11. What would be his first Lady Byng Trophy is also well within reach.

Advertisement 5

Article content

“He’s a great scorer, obviously, but other parts of his game, the way he plays, it’s a complete game,” the Anaheim Ducks’ Frank Vatrano said when he was in Toronto for the NHL all-star game. “He plays on both ends of the ice … it’s great to see a guy who wants to win and has the will to play like that.”

The rarity of the 70-goal season also should tip the Hart scales heavily in Matthews’ favour should he get there. It has happened just 14 times in NHL history, and Matthews would be just the ninth player to score 70. 

If Matthews does score 76 goals, keep in mind that only three players — Wayne Gretzky (92 goals in 1981-82 and 87 goals in 1983-84), Brett Hull (86 goals in 1990-91) and Mario Lemieux (85 goals in 1988-89) — have scored more in one season.

Advertisement 6

Article content

From a team standpoint, Matthews isn’t beating up on opposing goalies in a vacuum. The Leafs were ninth in points in the overall NHL standings through their first 55 games and were 10th in points percentage. They had put some distance between themselves and the Lightning and Detroit Red Wings in the race for third in the Atlantic Division, and with a 10-point lead on the ninth-place New Jersey Devils, had erased any doubt about whether they would make the playoffs.  

Leading the way was Matthews, who had 20 points (14 goals and six assists) to drive the Leafs to a 9-2-0 record in their past 11 games.

Matthews would need 29 goals in the Leafs’ last 27 games, including the game in Vegas, to reach 80. It’s not a crazy possibility to ponder, and if he managed to score 80, the Hart would be no contest. 

Advertisement 7

Article content

And nor should it be if he scores 70.

LOOSE LEAFS

Mitch Marner’s streak of five games with at least two assists tied the Leafs record set by Borje Salming during the 1984-85 season. Marner had 13 assists in that span, matching the 13 that Salming recorded in five games from March 24 to April 3, 1985 … Matthews needed just nine games to go to 50 goals from 40. Only nine different players in NHL history required fewer games to make that specific jump … Matthews’ power-play goal in Arizona in Toronto’s 6-3 win against the Coyotes on Wednesday was the 91st of his career, moving him past Rick Vaive into third for most in Leafs franchise history. Mats Sundin holds the record with 124, just ahead of Darryl Sittler, who had 120.

[email protected]

X: @koshtorontosun

Article content