Auston Matthews is really good at hockey. That's it. That's the article.
Well, no.. not really. What fun would it be to state the obvious without actually providing any information to support the claim?
Matthews has seemingly found another gear in 2019-20. For starters, he is on pace for an incredible 56 goals this season, and there's an outside chance that he may even hit 60 and become the first player to reach that mark since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12. Stamkos won the Rocket Richard Trophy that year.
On Wednesday night, the former 1st overall pick scored his 30th goal of the season against the Winnipeg Jets, becoming the first Maple Leaf in history to begin his career with four straight 30+ goal seasons.
In addition to this franchise milestone, Matthews is now the 15th player in NHL history to accomplish the same feat. The only other active player to have done this is none other than "The Great 8", Alex Ovechkin.
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On Wednesday, Matthews also became the first American-born player to have recorded four 30-goal seasons before age 23.
When you watch him play, it's easy to forget the fact that Matthews is still a very young player and is only getting better, as he is yet to enter his prime years.
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What is most incredible about the young, dynamic center is how many of his goals are scored at even-strength.
As The Athletic's Jonas Siegel points out, Matthews is currently 5th-all time for even-strength goals through a player's first 257 games played.
Yes, you read that correctly. There are only four players with more even-strength goals than Matthews (108) since they began tracking the stat. Those four players? Gretzky (147), Lemieux (122), Lindros (119), Hull (116). Talk about elite company.
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