Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Set to Break Sundin’s Records

Mats Sundin is the all-time leader in goals and points for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Auston Matthews’ current pace could see him eclipse the legend.

The Swedish center, who captained the Toronto Maple Leafs for ten seasons and has his #13 jersey hanging in the rafters at the Scotiabank Arena, finished his spell in Canada’s largest city with a franchise record 987 points and 420 goals.

Sundin managed this record in 981 games, playing a further 365 games with the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to register 1349 total points in his 1346-game career. (All stats via Hockey Reference).

Focusing purely on his time in Toronto, there’s a legitimate reason to believe that Matthews could be the player to one day break Sundin’s record and become the team’s all-time goalscorer and points producer, with the former category potentially being completely shattered in the process.

Matthews’ Historic Career Pace

At the time of writing, just after Matthews netted two goals in a 5-1 routing of the Vancouver Canucks, the American center has 299 total points (168 goals, 131 assists) in 293 regular season games so far in his career.

If Matthews is able to at the very least maintain his career pace in goal scoring, by the time he plays 981 games he has a serious chance of blowing Sundin’s 420 out of the water, with his current pace setting him up to reach an astonishing 562 or 563 – 562.48 if we want to be specific.

That would be at least 142 goals more than Sundin’s total in the same amount of games for the Leafs, potentially putting Matthews in a position to be an all-time legend for the franchise when all is said and done.

Being the Leafs’ first-ever player to eclipse 500 goals would undoubtedly put Matthews alongside the likes of George Armstrong, Tim Horton and Sundin as a legitimate legend in the blue and white, but to then score a further 62 goals would be even more astounding.

But that’s not all. Matthews’ current career pace for total points would also see the 23-year-old overtake Sundin in this category, with a current pace of 1,001 total points by the time he reaches the 981 games mark.

This would see Matthews edge the super Swede out by 13 points, also seeing him become the first player in franchise history to hit the coveted millennium mark – cementing his place as an all-time great.

For Matthews, this could be just the benchmark for him to reach, with Sundin himself starting his time in Toronto at the same age Matthews currently is – giving him longevity and a chance to play well above 981 games during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To see a player of his quality go on to break some long-held records would be exceptional and with his current pace already trending upwards, there really is no limit to what Matthews could achieve throughout his career.