Auston Matthews is now the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ all-time goal-scoring king. He has ascended to the top of the mountain after yet another multi-goal performance on Saturday night, to pass Mats Sundin for that illustrious title.
Career goal No. 421 — the new record — came in the second period of Saturday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the NY Islanders. Sure, he was eventually upstaged by another stunning performance from Isles rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer. But for Leaf fans, and Leafs history, this game belonged to Matthews.
With his 421st goal in just 664 games, he tops Sundin in 317 fewer games. Matthews is still only 28. Will Alex Ovechkin’s all-time NHL record (currently at 912 and counting) be in jeopardy one day? The Leafs captain actually cracked the 400 mark in six fewer games than Ovi.
With six goals and 10 points in his last four games, it’s clear that Matthews is back.
With the overtaking of the legendary Mats Sundin for the franchise record, it’s as good an excuse as any to have a look back at the Top 5 goal scorers in Maple Leafs history:
- Auston Matthews 421
- Mats Sundin 420
- Darryl Sittler 389
- Dave Keon 365
- Ron Ellis 332
Sundin spent 13 of his 18 NHL seasons in Toronto and was an eight-time All-Star with the Leafs. He topped the 40-goal mark twice, and the 30-goal plateau ten times. He totaled 987 points in 981 games with the team. Matthews still has over 200 points to go before catching him in that category.
Sundin was a dominant scorer, an iconic captain, and a respected leader for the franchise.
Darryl Sittler will forever be remembered for his 10-point night
Darryl Sittler, another iconic Leafs captain, showed never-ending class in leading the team through a turbulent period in the 1970s ruled by bombastic owner Harold Ballard. But he’ll forever be remembered in the annals of franchise—and hockey—history for his all-time NHL record 10-point game. He scored 6 goals and added 4 assists on February 7, 1976, against the Boston Bruins.
Sittler finished his 12 years in Toronto with 389 goals and 916 points in 844 games.
Dave Keon is the last Leafs captain to hoist the Stanley Cup
Dave Keon, who preceded Sittler as the Leafs’ captain, is not only fourth in franchise history with his 365 goals, but also with 1,062 games played. He trails only George Armstrong, Tim Horton, and Borje Salming in that category.
But more importantly, he remains the last Maple Leafs captain to win the Stanley Cup, and did it no less than four times in the 1960s. The final one, as all Leafs fans know all too well, came in 1967. Keon won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year.
Ron Ellis ranks 5th on Leafs’ goal-scoring charts
Ron Ellis is fifth on the all-time goal-scoring list for the Leafs with 332. He’s also right behind Keon in games played, with 1,034. Ellis ran off ten consecutive 20+ goal seasons for Toronto (with a 2-year ‘retirement’ break in between), and was also a part of that legendary ’67 Cup winner.
Perhaps some of the above names will eventually be at risk of being passed by William Nylander. The current Leafs’ star forward sits at 276 goals, and is 56 back of Ellis.
