Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is only just getting started and that’s bad news for the rest of the NHL.
There is no denying that Auston Matthews is a premier talent and the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar appears to just be scratching the surface of his elite abilities.
Ever since exploding on to the professional hockey scene with four goals in his National Hockey League debut against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 12, 2016, Matthews has established himself as an offensive juggernaut for the Maple Leafs.
However, despite recording at least 60 points in each of his first four seasons in the NHL, there is strong evidence to suggest that Matthews still has another level or two to reach.
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And, with the Leafs adding some grit and toughness to their core of skilled and uber-talented forwards, don’t be surprised if Matthews really takes that next huge leap during the 2020-21 season.
The first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Auston Matthews is right out of Central Casting in regards to how you would want a modern-day star to look like.
Boasting good size at 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds with movie star and Armani model caliber looks, Matthews has quickly established himself as the centerpiece of this loaded Toronto core, and he’s shown considerable improvement year in and year out.
After carving out a career-year in 2018-19 with 73 points (37 G, 36 A) in 68 games, Matthews really took things to the next level in 2019-20.
Despite being on a Maple Leafs team that severely punched below their considerable weight class for much of the year – hey, what’s new Toronto fans – the left shot reminded the rest of the NHL why he should be considered in the same stratosphere as Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
Really rising to the occasion, Matthews put up 47 goals and 33 assists for 80 points in 70 regular season games, setting new career-highs in goals, points, power play points (25), even-strength goals (35), shots on goal (290), ATOI (20:58) and faceoff win percentage (54.9%).
Matthews also cut his Giveaways down from 67 in 2018-19 to 48 in 2019-20, while racking up 60 blocked shots and setting a career-high in hits with 40, earning votes for the Lady Byng Trophy, the Hart Trophy and the Selke Trophy as a result.
And, were it not for the COVID-19 Pandemic shortening the 2019-20 regular season, then there is no doubt that Matthews would have reached the 50 goal plateau and maybe also beat Rick Vaive‘s franchise record of 54 goals in a single season.
That will have to wait for another year.
On that note, it is hard not to think that Matthews could reach 50 goals in his fifth year in 2020-21 given what we saw last season.
Putting the stats aside and the fact that he will always find twine with that wicked and deadly release of his, Matthews was a model of consistency throughout the 2019-20 season and showed clear signs of maturity in his all-round game.
He was much more of an effective presence in his own zone, he battled hard in the corners and in the dirty areas, he made less mistakes with the puck in crucial areas and he continued to improve in the faceoff circle, all signs that he is rounding nicely into a high-end two-way center who can excel while playing a 200-foot game.
Going back to the consistency for a minute, that is the hallmark of any great player and the fact that Matthews has added that element to his game is hugely encouraging when it comes to his overall maturation process.
I mean, the longest he went without scoring a goal during the 2019-20 season was five games from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4, but even then he was still putting 21 shots on net during that span. You don’t win the jackpot if you don’t buy a ticket, after all.
Plus, just 23-years-old, it is only logical that Matthews is going to grow, develop and improve the more he learns and perfects his craft, so it is feasible to predict that the best is yet to come despite the sample size being overwhelmingly impressive so far.
Granted, the one blot on Matthew’s copybook has been his performances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with no more than six points in each of his first four tastes of the postseason, a secret sauce he will have to discover and then work out if the Maple Leafs really are going to rule the National Hockey League once again and bring a Stanley Cup back to Toronto for the first time since 1967.
But, that one snafu aside, Auston Matthews is trending in the right direction and he appears to be on the cusp of reaching the peak of his powers in 2020-21 and absolutely wreaking havoc upon the league.
That is incredibly good news for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their championship aspirations, but a very scary proposition for the rest of the National Hockey League.