Auston MatthewsOwns a piece in Maple Leafs history. On Monday, he scored 54 goals to tie Rick Vaive’s record for goal-scoring.
To match Vaive’s single season benchmark, the 24-year-old scored a triple against Tampa on Monday. Vaive’s 54-goal mark has been held for more than 40 years starting with the 1981-82 season (which was also the most-scoring in modern NHL history).
Matthews joined the Leafs elite group of 50-goal scorers on March 31, when he reached the plateau in Toronto against Winnipeg. Matthews is the third player to reach 50 in Toronto’s history of 104 years. Vaive was three times in 1980s. Gary LeemanIn 1990, and Dave Andreychuk1994
Matthews only needed 63 games to score his 54th goals. Matthews already had the fastest 50-goal season in 1995-96. Matthews was the last player to reach 50 at the same time in their season. Alex Ovechkin2007-08. Matthews was also scoring at an amazing pace, with at least one goal per 31 of the 45 games leading to the achievement.
He’s now on track to establish a new franchise-best in Toronto. This is something he could build on in the coming seasons and possibly surpass.
Matthews was awarded the franchise’s first Rocket Richard Trophy. He won it last year in COVID-19’s shortened campaign. This was due to Matthews’ 41 goals in 52 games. The year before, he had scored 47 goals in 70 matches.
He has been fighting Edmonton’s. Leon DraisaitlTo win a second consecutive Rocket title. Matthews currently has 54 goals. Draisaitl follows him with 50.