The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping they can make a deep playoff run this season and win their first Stanley Cup since 1967, and have been playing well enough to be considered contenders as we inch closer to the 2024 Trade Deadline. One player who has stood out in a big way and is on pace to shatter his stat records this season is superstar forward Auston Matthews. Through 53 games at the time of this article, he has scored a league-leading 49 goals and added 24 assists for 73 points. He currently leads the Maple Leafs in points and is 10 goals ahead of Florida Panthers’ forward Sam Reinhart who has 39 goals on the season.
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Matthews sits tied for seventh in the NHL in points and has had one of the most dominant goal-scoring seasons in recent history. With his unbelievable offensive season, he has found himself in the conversation for multiple awards, but he deserves consideration for the Hart Trophy at the end of the season as well. The Hart Trophy is an annual award given to the most valuable player as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. While Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon sit atop the NHL’s point leaderboard, Matthews has been scoring at a ridiculous pace and deserves to be in the same conversation.
Matthews is on pace to score 75 goals this season as well as add 37 assists for 112 points. As the Maple Leafs continue to climb their way up the standings, they will be relying on him to continue on this pace into the postseason and help them get over the hump and have a deeper playoff run. The Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, nine points behind the Boston Bruins and three points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. They seem set in stone to clinch a playoff spot and while they are expected to be active at the trade deadline, they have a strong team heading into late February.
Matthews’ Resume & Deserving the Consideration
Matthews has a big collection of awards during his time in the NHL. He is a two-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner, which is awarded to the player with the most goals in the season, which he won in the 2020-21, and 2021-22 seasons. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award, and Hart Trophy in the 2021-22 season. The Ted Lindsay Award is awarded to the best player as chosen by members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA). In his rookie 2016-17 season, he won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. The one trophy he has yet to win is the Stanley Cup.
Over 534 games with the Maple Leafs since being selected first overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Matthews has scored 348 goals and added 267 assists for 615 points which comes out to a 1.15 points-per-game average. On top of his strong offensive game, he dominates the defensive side of the game as well. Watching him play in the defensive zone proves he is an elite two-way forward, and should be considered for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the best defensive forward.
Considering his offensive game as well as his elite defensive game, Matthews being considered for the Hart Trophy should be a no-brainer. He should be considered the favourite to win the Hart, as he has proven time and time again he is one of the best players in the NHL in all aspects of the game and should be recognized for it.
The Maple Leafs are back in action tonight in a battle against the Arizona Coyotes. Matthews will be looking to break the 50-goal plateau and begin pushing his way to the 60 and 70-goal marks before the conclusion of the season. He has the skills to do it, and hopefully, he can help lead the Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup this season.
