Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs had high hopes that captain Auston Matthews could lead the way and finally get the team over the hurdle this year. However, whatever ailment that Matthews suffered during training camp, it ended up lingering with him for the rest of the season that ultimately affected his effectiveness in the end.
As a result, the 27-year-old star center had his lowest offensive output in four years, compiling just 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points in 67 total games played. Being able to maintain a greater than point-per-game pace normally would be impressive already. But because Matthews’ main speciality is his elite ability to score goals, his effectiveness will forever be measured based on those numbers. With that in mind, his 33 goals for 2024-25 marked his lowest ever total for any season for his nine-year NHL career to date.
2024-25 Maple Leafs Player Grades: Auston Matthews puts together solid, yet uncharacteristic season
If taking a look at some of his advanced stats, Matthews is still producing strongly with rates above 50% for CF, expected goals, and scoring chances in 5-on-5 situations. However, his 52.12 CF% was his lowest in seven years and his 53.19% expected goals rate was his lowest in six years.
When it came to the playoffs, Matthews’ limited ability due to his underlying injury became much more apparent. Despite recording three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 13 postseason games, anyone with a good eye could see that his shot was far from his usual patented wrister. In fact, it felt at times like Matthews wasn’t even able to get off his shot at all. As a result, opposing teams were able to take advantage of that, especially the Florida Panthers, as they ultimately eliminated the Leafs from Stanley Cup contention.
But it wasn’t even just his offense that suffered in 2024-25, as his defensive play was significantly hindered as well. Matthews only recorded 45 hits this past season, which was half his total from his previous season. In addition, for a player that specialized in takeaways, Matthews managed only 29 last year, which was his lowest mark ever since he entered the NHL. To make matters worse, he also posted 62 giveaways, making it the largest giveaway-to-takeaway ratio of his career.
As to why Matthews tried to play through the injury over the entire season remains a mystery. Toronto should have the ability to stay afloat as a playoff team during the regular season even if the captain has to miss some games. Therefore, had he actually taken the time off and rehabilitated his ailment properly, the Leafs could have had a potent Matthews heading into the playoffs and everything may have turned out differently.
Nevertheless, Matthews did still post solid production numbers across the board. But because of the high expectations that many had in him, his 2024-25 campaign turned out a bit disappointing with respect to his standards to say the least. As a result, probably for the first time in a long time, he falls to a B-.