Auston Matthews is close to making Maple Leafs history.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made Auston Matthews captain of the team this summer. Matthews almost immediately emerged as a star once he debuted in the NHL. And there is already a case for him being one of the greatest Maple Leafs of all-time. He could further make this case in 2024-25 if he can surpass Mats Sundin as the team's all-time leading goal scorer.
Matthews is 52 goals away from tying Sundin's record. It's certainly within the realm of possibility that Matthews breaks the record this season. The Maple Leafs captain has scored at least 60 goals in two of the last three years. On Wednesday, Sundin spoke about the likelihood of his record being broken sometime soon.
“It’s nothing I really think about, obviously,” Sundin said Wednesday, via NHL.com. “But I thought my career, my 13 [seasons] with the Leafs (1994-2008) were the most fun of my professional career, beating Darryl Sittler’s record (389) and now obviously Auston is going to beat my record, whether it’s this year or next year, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews receives high praise from Mats Sundin
Auston Matthews is not only gunning for the Maple Leafs goal scoring record. He also isn't too far behind the team's points record, as well. He is 338 points behind Mats Sundin for the all-time franchise record in points. This will take a few more seasons to break. But he certainly has the ability to do so within the next few years.
His offensive abilities certainly make him a star. But his leadership helped him become the captain of the team. Sundin is more than familiar with what wearing the “C” for the Maple Leafs means. And he believes Matthews is more than worthy of the honor.
“He's the leader and he deserves it. I think it's something that's going to make him even a better player and feel like he's a captain for the team. Just don't change anything really, and he'll be fine. He's going to do great,” the Maple Leafs icon said, via NHL.com.
Matthews and the Maple Leafs are hoping to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again. They have made the postseason in each of the last eight seasons. However, they have only advanced passed the first round once during that time. Toronto defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one in 2023.
Matthews is going to lead this team on and off the ice in 2024-25. It will certainly be interesting to see how far this team can go. Toronto opens its 2024-25 campaign with a game against the Montreal Canadiens on October 9.
