With the 2023-25 NHL season on the horizon, the anticipation of it brings with it a flurry of predictions and expectations. This is especially true when it comes to star players like Auston Matthews. As a cornerstone player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Matthews’ scoring prowess is always a source of excitement.
I took the question of how many goals Matthews will score this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs to a local psychic in downtown Toronto.
His highest sum was two seasons back when the mustachioed center set a franchise record by scoring 60 goals in 73 contests, according to NHL stats. Last season, he tallied for 40 in 74 games. That was his lowest total in the past four seasons.
Matthews has played seven seasons in the NHL and has hit the 40 goal mark in five of them. The campaigns where he fell short were 2017-18, his sophomore season, when he collected 34 goals in 62 games. At that pace, if he were to have played a full season, Matthews would have scored 44 times.
2018-19 was the only other season that he didn’t cross the 40 goal threshold. The sniper had 37 that year in 68 games. If he had played all 82 games, his total should have risen to 44 goals.
With these numbers in mind, it’s difficult to imagine that if healthy, Matthews doesn’t remain in the 40-goal club. I predict that he will get up to 47, the same sum he reached in 2019-20. But, I’m not an expert on fortelling the future. That’s why I brought this question to someone who is.
Toronto Maple Leafs: A Psychic Predicts Matthews Goal Total in 2023-24
I was skeptical as I approached the front entrance. In the window hung two illuminated neon signs. One read, “Tarot Master”, the other “Psychic Reader”. I was certainly in the right place.
The psychic greeted me warmly as I entered. The inside was filled with small statues and candles. Being my first time dabbling in the mystic arts, I didn’t know what to expect. I was surprised to learn how many services were available in this establishment. My clairvoyant host walked me through all my options. I informed him that I had come to answer just one simple question, how many goals Matthews was going to score this season.
We sat at a table together and much to my delight, the psychic brought out a crystal ball. He then asked me if I had brought any Toronto Maple Leafs paraphernalia with me because it would make his job easier. I hadn’t, but offered to pull up a picture of Matthews on my phone. I was told that that was insufficient, but so long as I remained completely silent, the psychic could give me the answer I was searching.
The psychic disappeared out of the room for a moment and returned with some foul smelling incense, which he lit before gazing deep into the crystal ball. He must have been staring directly at the ball for a full minute before stopping to look up, directly at me, and revealed that he had an answer.
“Auston’s getting 51,” he said with certainty. I thanked him and declined a tarot reading before heading out, satisfied with the answer provided.
We will inevitably see whether the psychic was correct or if I had just paid for a very low production show of fiction. Matthews’ goal-scoring potential remains an exciting reason to tune into games and finding out whether fortunetelling can be accurate is just an added layer of fun this season will have.