Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews to Play 100th Game

The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Arizona Coyotes tonight.

After being selected 1st overall in the NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 Auston Matthews will play his 100th career game tonight.

It’s fitting that Matthews – born and raised in Arizona – will face his hometown team on this somewhat arbitrary, but nevertheless important milestone. Especially interesting in light of his recent mysterious injury that the team didn’t disclose and which caused him to miss four games. Perhaps he was just trying to get the timing right……….I’m kidding, that would be preposterous.

But still, it is kind of funny that he’s doing it against Arizona, his (one assumes) former favorite and still hometown team.

Great Start

You couldn’t have scripted a much better beginning to Matthews career. Not only did he enter the NHL right from the draft, but he scored four goals in his debut game. He led the NHL in 5v5 goal scoring and took the Leafs from 30th place to the Playoffs, where he almost helped upset the heavily favored Washington Capitals.

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Then he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year and helped make his team a contender just a year and a half after being drafted. Depending on who you ask he’s either the second or fifth best player in the NHL. Whereas it was once scoffed at, people are now openly wondering if he can be as good or better than Connor McDavid.

And he’s had a shot in every single NHL game he’s ever played in. He scored two goals in his return from injury. He’s already pretty much the best player in the history of an Original Six franchise.

You run out of words when you’re describing him and his accomplishments. Great. Magnificent. Amazing. At a certain point, it all sounds like hyperbole, but he’s really that good.

Since he entered the NHL he has 52 goals and 90 points in 99 games. Pretty much anyone with similar stats in the past has entered the Hockey Hall of Fame upon retirement.

Matthews

The Leafs truly have a special player, and I can honestly say the only competition he has for best Leafs player of my lifetime is Mats Sundin, and that even though Sundin is my all-time favorite hockey player, it’s not even close. All he has to do is stay in Toronto a couple more seasons and he’ll be unanimously declared their best ever player.

Next: Toronto Maple Leafs Must go For Stanley Cup Now

Before I go I’ll leave you with this almost useless (but pretty cool) stat: Auston Matthews is currently 108th on the all-time Toronto Maple Leafs goal scoring leader board. A hattrick tonight would put him at 100th in his 100th game. That’d be something.

Stats from hockeydb.com

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