Last night in the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 win over the reigning Stanley Cup champions, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner again highlighted they’re in a league of their own.
Matthews grabbed four points while Marner grabbed three as the Toronto Maple Leafs delivered an impressively poised display in Tampa.
Auston Matthews of course also tied the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record for goals in a single season, equaling Rick Vaive on 54 goals with his fourth hat-trick of the year.
Mitch Marner meanwhile has 13 points in his last 5 games and 21 points in the last 10 games including a streak of 6 consecutive multi-point games.
Toronto Maple Leafs Duo A Class Above The Rest
In the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise, the have seldom had a duo that has had quite as much chemistry. In fact, there’s never really been a duo that blended their two respective skillsets with such ease.
Of course, right here we’re talking regular season only. The duo has yet to get the job done when it really matters in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That will come eventually (we hope!).
In terms of regular seasons though; the Toronto Maple Leafs have never had a duo both hit the 100-point mark in the same season. The closest was the 1992-93 season which saw Doug Gilmour hit 127 points while Dave Andreychuk fell one short on 99 points.
Right now, Auston Matthews is all but guaranteed to hit 100 points, with Elite Prospects projecting that he could hit 111 points before this season is done.
Mitch Marner meanwhile is less a guarantee, but given his recent multi-point streak, it’s hard to see him not getting there. His current total of 84 points leaves him requiring 16 more with Elite Prospects projecting a season total of 102.
Their point-per-game totals this season are 4th and 5th all-time (when looking at players playing over 30 games in a season). Only Doug Gilmour, Lorne Carr and Darryl Sittler have produced at higher rates across a single season, and it was easier to score then than it is today.
When you consider we’re talking two players that have yet to pass their 25th birthdays, it’s fair to say they could very well end up as bonafide Toronto Maple Leafs legends, if they aren’t already.
It really is no exaggeration that they are already right up there with the likes of Gilmour and Andreychuk at the very least. The points total don’t lie.
It’s really hard not to elevate these two players to a standing that puts them up there with the likes of these names that have statues on Legends Row and their numbers hanging in the rafters of Scotiabank Arena.
Again, the asterisk remains though. Until they can help lead the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the first round of the playoffs, they’ll never quite be moved up to that legendary tier in the minds of the collective fanbase.
Here’s hoping that they continue to find ways to get things done once it gets to crunch time. Recent performances against the league’s best teams suggest they have the tools in their arsenal to take it up another notch.