Exactly. Thats how Ovie has gotten so close to Gretzky. Gretzky killed it in the 80s when everyone was scoring (and did it better obviously), but couldnt hack it in the 90s once he his his 30s. Ovechkin found a way to keep putting up 40 or 50 goal seasons into his late 30s
@@raptors11111 Dude, what are you talking about? Sure Gretz didn't score as many goals in his 30's compared to Ovi, but from aged 30 - 38, Gretz scored 240 goals. That's 30 goals a year in his 30's. You good bruh?
@@joysofhope dude no clue where u got your numbers, but Gretz only had 3x 30 goal seasons in his 30s, and just 1x 40 goal season. 217 goals in 640 games in his 30s. Thats 24 per season not 30. Not saying thats bad but its pedestrian as hell after having 677 goals in his 20s. Ovechkin haz 353 goals since turning 30.
And got 50 at 36 42 at 38 if Ovi had any where near the talent around him that Matthew and Gretzky had he would be pass the 900 easy not to mention 1 full season lost and 2 half seasons for lockouts and covid. I'll also add Ovi did this during a time where goals per game were 1 less as they are now. Austin is great but also gets hurt often Ovi was a beast and rarely missed games. I dont see Austin putting up these goals for 18 years like Ovi did
People forget how versatile ovi was in his prime. I think Matthews will have a similar situation where he has to find his sweet spots and stick to that later in his career but no doubt a generational goal scorer
Ovi definitely laid many hits back in the day. Certainly way more than Matthews, I wonder what the effects are long term on Ovi's body. I think Matthews definitely has a chance, huge part of the luck (or skill) is avoiding injury.
@@codedigger5101 ovi has been incredibly durable and consistent to this point. Matthews has a long road ahead of him. It may be possible if his body holds up. However it’s better to be the ovechkin that makes the check than be a Matthews that receives it.
It's two different era of NHL hockey. One that had especially few goals per games, and one that is characterized with more goals than ever. Not only that, back then you had to be strong and complete just to survive. What Ovi did can't be compared to current hockey nor 70-80s hockey. Also, you need a lot more than what AM is as a player to lead your team to deep playoff runs. I don't laugh at them for not having won the cup since 2016, I (and I think the majority of people outside of Tor) laugh at them for getting humiliated each summer. I (me, personally) have as much 2 round playoff goals than AM, so this is hysterical. Not as much as THE "genius" Golden Boy GM fans kept worshiping, who is a fraud now hard at work screwing what little time left we have with Malkin and Crosby in the league... What a fraud.
Absolutely. Maybe not as much this season, but Ovi in his 30s actually looked like he took his game to a new level, made his game more complete, and seemed to compete/work even harder than when he was in his so-called prime. Its really sad seeing that not even he could hold Father Time off, but I'm not counting him out just yet.
If anyone can replicate it it's Matthews. He's a smarter player than Ovi and relies on his smarts to score goals instead of pure force or power so that bodes well for his game. Only thing holding him back is injuries
327 goals in 511 games If he can maintain the same pace, that means he will hit 900 goals in 1,407 games. Ovechkin is at 828 goals in 1,378 games. Age is cruel. I remember watching Ichiro Suzuki and thinking that he had a chance to catch Pete Rose's hitting record. Just looking at his MLB stats, you can see when Father Time said. "No more." There is no trickle off. It just shuts down fast.
Ichiro was also 27 when he joined the majors. If he would have played in his early 20s he would have beaten the record for sure. Matthews is an unbelievable scorer without a doubt. One reason he could end up doing it is because the sport is so pussified that he won't be hit much unlike Ovechkin (who also dished it out).
@@Dr.Frankensteen I'm not sure if pussification is enough to get Matthews 1,407 games. He is already a little slow. When age kicks in and he becomes very slow, it might be hard keep up the pace.
The same criticisms about Matthews is what people said about Ovechkin during his mid-late 20s. He can't keep up this pace, he's going to be slowed by injuries etc. Ovechkin remained remarkably healthy, but he missed time due to lockouts. It's arguable that Ovechkin would be much closer to the record, if not already there if it was not for the time he missed. The truth is we'll never know how Matthews' career will change with injuries or future work stoppages. But I think as hockey fans we should all be excited about the possibility of seeing the record be broken in our lifetime, whether it's Matthews or Ovechkin
People always forget goals are up by 1 per game and ovi didn't have 4 10m players supporting him not to mention a good 120 games lost to lookouts and covid for Ovi thats a good 60 to 70 goals lost to time. Not to mention Matthew's isn't the tank Ovi was he's hurt often so I don't see him playing at this rate for 18 years
I badly want Ovi to break Gretzky's record, and then Matthews to break Ovi's. It's got the air of destiny to it: When Ovi scored that crazy goal in front of Gretzky in his rookie year, Auston Matthews was in the crowd as a little boy.
@@EpicEric2002I mean 500 is such a nice number, I figure there was some kind of motivation to include those 11 games. But that's usually reserved for shitty teams/players as a way to hype up a brief period of success, like if Ryan Reaves gets two assists two games in a row and they say he's on pace for an 80 point season.
This is a great video! Would love to see more of these for other players. Huge fan of the videos where you break down the plays and explain the systems guys are using to have success.
I'm from Germany and these are interesting videos that always keep me up to date with what's happening in the NHL and go beyond results, stats and highlights. thank you and keep it up.
He is truly one of the great players, and it all comes from his stick handling ability and his intelligence at reading a play. Watching him these last few games, what’s truly impressed me was his defensive capability. He’s amazing at breaking up plays, and when he has the puck, it’s very hard to strip him of it.
Really weird thing i found about matthews recently is he doesnt score points on fridays (at least since 2020). Of course, because of hockey night in canada, the leafs dont play very many friday games but he has 3 points on 14 friday games since the 2020 season while being consistently more than a point per game every other day of the week.
Man, Baseball doesn't exist is so good that I watched many of his videos and I haven't watched a single game of baseball. And yeah this is top tier hockey channel for me also.
The word "could" makes that statement entirely redundant. Replace "could" with "will" and we'll check back later and give credit if it's due or not. Otherwise, a nothing statement.
I'm a huge Ovi fan that wants him to pass 99's record, but I think it would be great if Matthews did it too. He has to be as consistent as Ovi has been to do it. If you look at the goal scoring pace of Bossy and 66, they too would have crushed 99's record if they were healthy and consistent. Consistency and health is everything when it comes to extraordinary goal scorers. 99's epic scoring seasons were when he was on an insanely stacked team. When he went to LA he was still in his prime and he was a 30 - 40 goal scorer with one 54 goal season, which was his 8th season. Lemieux scored 69 goals in his 9th season in 60 games and 69 goals in his 11th season and only played 70 games. He score 35 goals in 43 games when he was 35 years old - he was on pace for 67 goals that season. If 66 was healthy, he would have score over 1000 goals.
@@toedrag-release There have been numerous changes to goalie kit, even when Gretz was playing. Goalies are bigger and so is their equipment now than in the 1980s, but the 90s the pads were bigger than now. So you can't really just factor it in one way and say more goals would be scored now because of that. Goals were easier to come by in the 80s, harder in the 90s and 00s, and a bit easier again now, but this is due to a ton of different factors, goalie equipment is just one small factor. Changes to the position of the blue lines (reducing the size of the neutral zone), making the blue lines wider, reducing the depth of the net to allow for easier wrap arounds, changing the shape of the crease and the rules for goalie interference, penalizing crease clearing, etc all had impacts as well. The game is just so different now than the 80s, because of the number of changes over the years. Hell, the game is quite different now than it was when Ovi was in his 20s.
Matthews gets hurt and misses time every season. I don't see it as at all likely that he's going to continue his pace long term. One of the keys to Ovie doing what he's done is that he stays healthy.
Ovi's impressive due to his consistency and durability. Matthews has had some injury issues. If hes still at this pace in a few more years and shows a bit more consistent health hes def got a shot at it. But even Ovi seems to finally have had age catch up to him. I don't think hes catching Gretz anymore.
16-17 season to this moment Mathews 512 games and Ovechkin 540 games. Matthews 327 goals Ovechkin 303 goals. After 31 of age Ovie has been healthier than Prime Matthews. I wish more 82 game seasons to Matthews
he'll get close enough to where he'll play an extra season to do it. When you're that close, you'll find a way to get it done even if it means being purely a PP specialist with limited ice-time in your late 30s
@@OPFlyFisher304Part of what makes Matthews more impressive in my eyes is that he does this at center while Ovi’s done it on the wing. Wingers have a lot more freedom to take risks and play with an almost entirely offense-only mindset, whereas centers, whether they like it or not, HAVE to defend. It’s becoming more lax as the game evolves, but Matthews is miles better defensively than Ovi ever has been except for MAYBE the year when Ovi won the cup… but even then, I doubt it. Matthews is putting up a faster goal-scoring pace than Ovechkin while playing the harder position and dealing with more injuries. It’s pretty remarkable to witness.
Also OV's first 8 seasons he had 371 goals, so he's about a season ahead, plus he lost half a season because of a lockout (would've been a 50-60 goal season too).
As a VGK fan, it’s just funny that the leafs have had to go through all of this pressure and disappointment in a heated Toronto market, and yet I’m a desert rat that didn’t watch a single ounce of hockey before vgk’s inaugural season, and we win the Stanley cup in our sixth year, without any proven bona fide superstar in our franchises history (except Eichel and maybe fleury) Then I see that Toronto hasn’t won a cup since ‘67, and I just can’t help but feel sorry for the 55 years of Toronto fans that haven’t seen a cup :/
I love this channel. Every video I learn something about strategy, the players, or just fun facts. Always excited to see a new video pop up on my feed.
@wyldrice Over the span of a career. Matthews is a phenom. Nobody is arguing that. It took 20 years for The Russian Train to slow down, and he's not even retired. Maybe he pulls a Chelios and chugs along for 4 years at 20 Goals a season... then we can say 'they add up'.
Dan Marino was a great QB, statistically top 2 before Brady. All those goals look cool on paper, if he doesn’t bring cups it won’t matter. He could score 1000 goals and Gretzky will still be the goat.
Yeah, I'll take Kucherov. Who unironically score his career 300th tonight. All the individual stuff is distractions. It's nice to hear someone played their 500th game or scored X but the announcers should just leave it and move on
@@jimknowlton342 it won’t matter to leafs fans or any team he plays for fans if he cant win a cup. He’ll be the next Marcel Dionne. Name written in history on paper not a name etched in silver on the cup.
So tired of hearing if they don't win a cup what they have accomplished means nothing. ITS A TEAM SPORT. Lemieux, Gretzky, Hull, Hull, Howe, Orr, Esposito, Bourque etc did not win Cups on their own, none of them were singlehandedly responsible for a Stanley Cup. Period
@@wayneholmes9081 my dad is 62 so he was born right when the leafs won the cup obviously if we was alive he wouldn’t have seen it or remembered, the best thing we have is the 2015 blue jays 🥲
So...Wow. 1 - Ovi did what he did in the dead puck era, the goalie era. 1-0 wins were more frequent than a typical 7-3 game you'll see every single night nowadays. 2 - Ovi came into the league TWENTY YEARS AGO almost. Back then, we barely talked and/or knew about concussion, and being an exceptional goal scorer wasn't enough. You had to be so much more. You had to be the toughest guy around. You basically HAD to be what we call a "power forward" nowadays (you know, the type of players that are rarer each season?). 3 - When a modern goal scorer that is also a center, that is big, gets shutdown every post season because of the normal physicality that comes with it, what else can he do to contribute when his whole line isn't doing anything? Not much it turns out (source : 5 Leafs post season). It's bad for moral too, for the whole team. Ovi and his team did have their own post season demons, but if Ovi can't score, he's FAR from being dead weight. He's grind like a 4th line grunt if he has to, no issue. 4 - Ovi is a cup champ. He has been one of the face of the league 20 years. NOBODY (outside of Toronto's bubble) would even put both players into the same conversation. Even with the Pens dynasty with Crosby Malkin and Fleury, in the dead puck era, AND doing so much more than scoring, OVI still managed to have a PPG record. He did that while less than half of post season goals got scored in much of that era. Austin? 22 goals in 50 games! 22! And not even a PPG player either with 22 points. Caps lost to cup favorites, while the Leafs lost to Boston, which always got beat the next round, not the Pens within their dynastic prime LOL! They lost to ONE team that got as far as the finals (Habs, 2022?). Also, how many second round goal does he have? You know, the full 5 games since 2016 he played in. Hint : it's as much you reading this. Finally, ALL the greats took SEVERE paycut to give their team a chance to win, along with favorable terms/contractual years. From Ovi to Crosby to malkin, to even the McDavid, who is basically paid as much as Austin... Which again, might be okay-ish in Toronto, but everywhere else it's something to joke about. . He's the 4th most paid player in the league right now. If he had to put the ultimate playoff fantasy team, nobody outside of Tor would even choose him lol. Draisaitl alone has more than TWICE+ AM post season goals, and in 49 games vs 50. Oh and more assists too. 44 points in 50 games vs 77 points in 49 games, while not being afraid a physicality, AND for like 5 millions less in salary. I can't believe in signed for less than the max number of years. IF AM does not start to show he can be more useful than a 4-6M player during the playoffs, NOBODY will want to trade for him, not at that price. No team without a good to great defensive core + a good to great goalie can even HOPE to reach the finals, let alone with it. So Tor, hope you've learned to like humiliating post seasons, because it's not going to change any time soon. Oh and your ex savior, the genius GM you used to have that would have fixed everything if XYZ didn't prevent him to his job somehow. Well now he has FULL CONTROL of the Pens, and the results speak for themselves. It's a disaster. You've ALL been worshiping a freaking fraud. Keep it up, it's like a little bonus each post season. Oh and hockey is a team game at the end of the day, and the goal is to win the cup, or at least get serious postseason success. It's when things starts to matter and when the game is just elevated to such a degree; it's crazy. Regular season star players who can't elevate their game simply can't compare to players like OVI. No matter how many useless goals one score during blowout games. Please, keep on doing your thesis on one single aspect of regular season your white elephant is good at. It just makes each post season even more hilarious.
The "dead puck" era was 1997 up until the 2004/2005 lockout. There was a period from around 2011 until 2016 where scoring dropped down to those levels again but it's never been referred to as the dead puck era and will probably have people confused if you refer to it as that.
Old to hockey. Started young watching Horton, Armstrong and Keon on Saturday nights. Orr Amazed all. Like Matthews is doing now. Excellent description of current skills and development in the game. Very comprehensive and enjoyable work.
It's been 10 years since I watched hockey actively and now have been watching again and gathering some information about the state of the game and I have never seen a player like him
My Favorite memory of Austin Matthews was when he he scored a OT winner againist the Dallas Stars.. He skated by the Board with his Hands up in the air basically saying thats right I am a bad ass.. I was at that game on the boards and we made eye contact thru the glass... Sad my favorite Team lost but a lot of respect for a player like that .. Wish he played for the Stars :D
As a Sabres fan, I love seeing Matthews have success. Offense makes for good hockey, and it is good for the sport as a whole. As long as Matthews doesn’t lose 2+ seasons of his career due to lockouts and suspended seasons like Ovechkin did he has a great shot at the record. Also, Ovechkin only scored 32 and 38 goals in his 6th and 7th seasons because of lousy coaching philosophy. Ovechkin could already be ahead of Gretzky right now if not for those things happening.
@@booradley6832 a little bit. Ovechkin lost what would have been his rookie year and then had a season cut down to 48 games due to a lockout. Even if we assume he only would have gotten ~30 goals in his rookie year due to him being a year younger, he would have easily had another 20 if he got the full 82 in the lockout shortened season. So realistically he would have 50+ more goals right now if not for lockouts.
Consistency is key here. I’d love to see Matthew’s break it, but doing it year in and year out for 15+ years is exponentially harder than for 5 years. 10 years ago everyone was talking about Ovi vs Stamkos and why Stamkos is the better scorer since he scores in all different ways… It’s interesting to see how those comparisons age.
Matthews is currently top 5 goals per game over a career all time and he's 26. He's generational and that's without question. Hate him or the team all you want, he's one of the greatest goal scorers ever.
Grew up in Toronto, I’d be lying if I said as a child I didn’t resent hockey. I liked other sports and Canadian media would just play hockey highlights over and over and as a result I never learned the game on a deeper level. Those feelings are long gone, and watching videos like this where it gives you a small breakdown on lingo like “linear cross” helps and builds my appreciation for the game in general.
He creates a lot of those offensive zone turnovers himself, one thing I notice about Matthews is how quick his stick is wether it’s lifting another players stick , getting the shot off or making the quick pass. He might not have the softest and most flashy hands in the league but definitely one of the quickest.
As a life long Maple Leafs fan, Auston Matthews is an AMAZING goal scorer, definitely one of the best.I am a huge huge fan of his. However, Ovechkin was always a better player, he's more gritty, and he plays with more passion. It's similar to people who compared Lindros to Lemieux. They were both exceptional players, but Lemieux overall was a better player.
Matthews is absolutely insane. To be close to a goal a game pace in today's NHL is unreal. But can he maintain that level of dominance well into his 30s like Ovi did? I think that's the real question.
I've watched every game in awe that opponents leave him the amount of space they do. You can not be caught puck-watching when talents such as Ovi, Matthews or McDavid are on the ice.
Im not particularly new to hockey as i grew up with my grandparents always watching the leafs, I know most of the rules and have been to a few games, but im really starting to pick it up more so thanks for these videos! I dont catch every one, but when i do they really help! Im a soccer fan most of the time but ive always loved hockey, just was kinda hard to watch because i moved to america from canada a little while ago. Sucks being a Toronto fan and Man United fan, havent seen either one win the league in my lifetime…
So glad I saw this before the Columbus game tonight because the goal he just scored highlights every point of this video PERFECTLY and I may not have noticed without the info I learned from this video. Good in speed selection, perfect route, intelligent shot, good positioning after o-zone turnover, is all there and I probably wouldn’t have specifically been able to notice any of it without this awesome video
I think Mathew is a fantastic player. I also have to believe Bossy had these kind of numbers through 511 games. The point is staying healthy and sustaining scoring for such a long time is a tribute to Ovi’s overall skill longevity.
Remember, Bossy played only 10 seasons, and 51 plus goals every year but the last, shortened by injury. 365 goals in his first 466 games. Mathews is not putting up those kind of numbers. He is TODAYS best goal scorer, but I don't think he will get up to the ranks of Gretzky or Ovi. He might get close to Hull if he keeps away from injury.
I love your breakdown of the numbers and explaining why players are the way they are and why they play the way they do. I wasn't aware of Mathews numbers overall (outside of tracked stats for pools). This is a great breakdown. I look forward to more of these and will suggest your channel to all of my hockey friends.
I remember when people were saying the same things about Stamkos in his first 5 years in the league. Is Stamkos still the generational goal scorer everyone said he was 10 years ago? The truth is it's difficult to maintain a pace that could catch Gretzky or Ovechkin and it's way too early to Matthews in this conversation. It's almost unfair to Matthews tbh. 1 50-goal season in 10 years. He also has trouble playing the full 82 game season. I think he finishes his career goal total somewhere in the 700's, if he maintains a pace similar to this season or last season.
I mean Stamkos basically is ovechkin 2.0. He managed to play all 82 games 5 times and played all 48 during the lockout season and played 81 the last 2 seasons before this year. Despite having a couple significant injuries like crosby in the 2010s he still had the second most goals in the 2010s decade only behind ovi and like crosby he always picked up right where he left off pre-injury. Ofc Ovi and Stamkso have been linked to generational pure goal scorer status but yes I agree matthews while it is still a little early i can't help but put him in that convo too if he keeps these absurd paces up
I think the psychology is the key to understanding this. You highlight how a lot of Matthews goals come from taking advantage of opponents mistakes, missing a shift in position, not thinking a player will shoot given his positioning or game state. Playoffs are a whole different animal and teams can focus on what he does differently for a whole series. His regular season points per game is 1.14, playoffs is .88.
I see most people seen to like this topic but I find it annoying... did you know that if Matthews finishes this year strong, and then has 10 straight 50 goal seasons - he still wont break Gretzky's record? (BTW, the only season Matthews got 50 or more goals was once when he got 60, and he should do it this year too). Let's start talking about this when he is at 700 goals or something (his 327 is not even half way to 700 let alone 900)
It may be true that he could do it, but the big thing with ovi is that, until this year, he was still doing it late into his 30's. Ovi also rarely misses games. I'm not saying it's impossible with Matthews, but its not worth thinking about until he's still doing it 7 years from now or whatever.
Flyers fan here. Auston Matthews has the best wrist shot I’ve ever seen. And if we were to have a fantasy draft in real life and I had the #1 pick, it would be Auston Matthews with a bullet. Let’s also take a moment to celebrate that we have seen Matthews, Stamkos and Ovechkin play in the same era. That’s an incredible amount of elite shooting between 3 players.
Ovi had to deal with the dead-puck era, Matthews has benefitted from the more offensive rules for his career. He does have the occasional great year followed up with disappointing ones. You go from 60 goals, back to 40, and that is a pretty big dip. He needs to string together 7+, 50 goal seasons to even be remotely considered. He ain't catching Gretzky, you guys are just creating hype due to boredom.
Fans do not hate the Leafs. They hate Leaf fans. Not the same thing. Any “hockey” fan has to recognize what a great player Matthews is. Certainly the most prolific scorer in the game right now. The emergence of this calibre of player bodes well for the game wherever he plays. Hopefully in 12 years we will still be watching him and wondering if there is a kid out there who might beat the Matthews record.
I think Matthew's will score at a great pace in his 30s as well . His release and hockey iq will carry him , similar to Brett hull in his older days. And thank you for this video , I knew Matthew's had a good hockey iq but didn't know it was This good. Just found your channel a couple weeks ago and anybody who likes hockey should be watching your channel. The weekly video you do is great of what's going on in league.
As a Leafs fan I don't think Matthews will become the best Goal Scorer of all time. The man hasn't played a full 82 game season since his Rookie years & is injury prone. I expect Matthews to get into the Top 10 of all time & quite possibly Top 5, but 1st or 2nd? I don't think so personally
I feel like everyone loves to just ignore the insane longevity OV has had. Matthews is pacing slightly better yes, but he needs to still be scoring 40 a year in his late 30s as OV has done, which is INSANELY rare.
Oh, please.... Check Ovechkin at 32-37 32 years old, 49 goals 33 - 51 34 - 48 35 - 24 ( in 45 games, which is a 44 goal pace over 82 games) 36 - 50 37 - 42 That is insane. Check Wayne, Jagr, Brett Hull Hull never scored 50 past 30 years of age, never got 40 past 32. Jagr scored 30 goals at 34, 25 goals at 35. Jagr, the ageless one dropped significantly. Wayne scored 38 at 32 years of age and never hit 30 again. Matthews has shown that he is not as durable as Ovechkin. The goals past 32-33 will set Alex apart. I predict Matthews gets around 725 (which is HUGE, but he is not catching Howe, Ovechkin or Gretzky).
Whats most important is not goals per game but goals/year. The missed time he's had may cost him, and more importantly if he misses more time as he ages. Matthews has had 299 goals in his first 7 seasons vs 339 for Ovie because he missed less time
Matthews is going to be an all time great goal scorer no doubt, but comparing his stats to Ovis isn't really fair because scoring is up league wide compared to when Ovi was in his prime. In the last two seasons there have been 3 different players who have hit 60 goals, before that there 2 players who hit 60 goals since ovi came into the league in 2005.
Matthew's positioning & route changes without the puck kind of remind me of Milan Hejduk but even better. Hejduk wasn't the fastest skater or hardest shooter, but he found open ice and had had a good release/shot selection.
…and I was worried you were going to say the opposite! I’m totally ready to hear this! I’m not sure when the Leafs became the Nickelback of the hockey world, but it’s great to see them doing well. Go Leafs Go!
I love Mathews. Been a leafs fan my whole life and we’ve never had a top 3-5 player It’s fun to watch and I really hope he gets some playoff success to shut up all the haters. He’s the best goal scorer possibly ever , just enjoy the show.
Hype is another problem, 8 year olds hype him up to a crazy degree and they all honestly degrade him. But Auston Matthews definitely has a good chance to be one of if not the greatest American player of all time if he’s consistent with his points.
theres definitely room to see where matthews goes with it, but im also curious about where mcdavid will end up slotting into all of this because i think it's possible for him too
Bedard has how many goals playing on a team with no one else? Give it 5 years. Ovi scored 65, and over 50 9 (NINE) times. That's more than McDavid did on his wagon year last year. Matthews has yet to perform even close to what Ovi did in the playoffs. He's the opposite of clutch. Talented sure. Entitled? Even more so. Wait until he doesn't have Marner feeding him absolutely dishes
its not about how many you score in your 20s, its about how many you score in your 30s
Exactly. Thats how Ovie has gotten so close to Gretzky. Gretzky killed it in the 80s when everyone was scoring (and did it better obviously), but couldnt hack it in the 90s once he his his 30s. Ovechkin found a way to keep putting up 40 or 50 goal seasons into his late 30s
@@raptors11111 Dude, what are you talking about? Sure Gretz didn't score as many goals in his 30's compared to Ovi, but from aged 30 - 38, Gretz scored 240 goals. That's 30 goals a year in his 30's. You good bruh?
@@joysofhope dude no clue where u got your numbers, but Gretz only had 3x 30 goal seasons in his 30s, and just 1x 40 goal season. 217 goals in 640 games in his 30s. Thats 24 per season not 30. Not saying thats bad but its pedestrian as hell after having 677 goals in his 20s.
Ovechkin haz 353 goals since turning 30.
And got 50 at 36 42 at 38 if Ovi had any where near the talent around him that Matthew and Gretzky had he would be pass the 900 easy not to mention 1 full season lost and 2 half seasons for lockouts and covid. I'll also add Ovi did this during a time where goals per game were 1 less as they are now. Austin is great but also gets hurt often Ovi was a beast and rarely missed games. I dont see Austin putting up these goals for 18 years like Ovi did
hes gotta stay healthy too, mike bossy and mario lemieux should have way more goals than they already registered due to shortened seasons/careers
People forget how versatile ovi was in his prime. I think Matthews will have a similar situation where he has to find his sweet spots and stick to that later in his career but no doubt a generational goal scorer
Ovi definitely laid many hits back in the day. Certainly way more than Matthews, I wonder what the effects are long term on Ovi's body. I think Matthews definitely has a chance, huge part of the luck (or skill) is avoiding injury.
@@codedigger5101 ovi has been incredibly durable and consistent to this point. Matthews has a long road ahead of him. It may be possible if his body holds up. However it’s better to be the ovechkin that makes the check than be a Matthews that receives it.
It's two different era of NHL hockey. One that had especially few goals per games, and one that is characterized with more goals than ever. Not only that, back then you had to be strong and complete just to survive. What Ovi did can't be compared to current hockey nor 70-80s hockey.
Also, you need a lot more than what AM is as a player to lead your team to deep playoff runs. I don't laugh at them for not having won the cup since 2016, I (and I think the majority of people outside of Tor) laugh at them for getting humiliated each summer.
I (me, personally) have as much 2 round playoff goals than AM, so this is hysterical. Not as much as THE "genius" Golden Boy GM fans kept worshiping, who is a fraud now hard at work screwing what little time left we have with Malkin and Crosby in the league... What a fraud.
I think matthews is better than Ovechkin
You are ridiculous. Ovi is the greatest goal scorer ever
The amount of 40 / 50 goal seasons Ovechkin put up in his 30's is ridiculous. Gonna be hard for anyone to replicate that
Absolutely. Maybe not as much this season, but Ovi in his 30s actually looked like he took his game to a new level, made his game more complete, and seemed to compete/work even harder than when he was in his so-called prime. Its really sad seeing that not even he could hold Father Time off, but I'm not counting him out just yet.
He's not as big as ovi, he won't be as durable long term
If anyone can replicate it it's Matthews. He's a smarter player than Ovi and relies on his smarts to score goals instead of pure force or power so that bodes well for his game. Only thing holding him back is injuries
How do you know this? Some of the smallest guys are the most durable... @@dkell1597
He's already missed more games in 8 seasons than Ovechkin has in 18.
327 goals in 511 games
If he can maintain the same pace, that means he will hit 900 goals in 1,407 games.
Ovechkin is at 828 goals in 1,378 games.
Age is cruel. I remember watching Ichiro Suzuki and thinking that he had a chance to catch Pete Rose's hitting record. Just looking at his MLB stats, you can see when Father Time said. "No more." There is no trickle off. It just shuts down fast.
No way Matthews plays long enough to beat out Gretzky or Ovechkin.
might be exactly what's happening to ovi sadly. He's on pace for 15 this year and I doubt he has 4 more seasons in the tank to break the record
Ichiro was also 27 when he joined the majors. If he would have played in his early 20s he would have beaten the record for sure.
Matthews is an unbelievable scorer without a doubt. One reason he could end up doing it is because the sport is so pussified that he won't be hit much unlike Ovechkin (who also dished it out).
@@Dr.Frankensteen I'm not sure if pussification is enough to get Matthews 1,407 games. He is already a little slow. When age kicks in and he becomes very slow, it might be hard keep up the pace.
Watching this right after witnessing the Leafs blow yet another lead to the Ottawa Senators
I chose not to focus on that reality haha
Hahahaha and who cares !!! Boston lost 4 in a row. It's hockey you win some ,you lose some. Unless you're the Habs!
@@category7273Facts
And when you’re the Leafs.. No Stanley Cup in 57 years
No conference finals appearance since 2002. One playoff series win in 20 years. 😂😂😂😂
@@Aebischer1984 Hey, hey, hey... its not 57 years... but it will be by the time the playoffs for this season roll around xD
The same criticisms about Matthews is what people said about Ovechkin during his mid-late 20s. He can't keep up this pace, he's going to be slowed by injuries etc. Ovechkin remained remarkably healthy, but he missed time due to lockouts. It's arguable that Ovechkin would be much closer to the record, if not already there if it was not for the time he missed. The truth is we'll never know how Matthews' career will change with injuries or future work stoppages. But I think as hockey fans we should all be excited about the possibility of seeing the record be broken in our lifetime, whether it's Matthews or Ovechkin
Yeah without 2 lockouts (one being a full season) and covid, Ovechkin would easily be at 900 right now
People always forget goals are up by 1 per game and ovi didn't have 4 10m players supporting him not to mention a good 120 games lost to lookouts and covid for Ovi thats a good 60 to 70 goals lost to time. Not to mention Matthew's isn't the tank Ovi was he's hurt often so I don't see him playing at this rate for 18 years
He’s never going to be injured he is a god!!!!! He will become the next Gretzky !!!!!
Russian machine never break (until recently)
Agree many players in the caliber of greatness end up hurt which prevents them from continuing.
I badly want Ovi to break Gretzky's record, and then Matthews to break Ovi's. It's got the air of destiny to it: When Ovi scored that crazy goal in front of Gretzky in his rookie year, Auston Matthews was in the crowd as a little boy.
Absolutely no fucking chance of the second one.
That’s actually crazy that they were all there that day
A full circle moment if you think about it
511 games is an odd reference point. What's the stats look like at 500 games?
Probably worse 😂 because he had like 3 hattys in the 11 games
@@EpicEric2002I mean 500 is such a nice number, I figure there was some kind of motivation to include those 11 games. But that's usually reserved for shitty teams/players as a way to hype up a brief period of success, like if Ryan Reaves gets two assists two games in a row and they say he's on pace for an 80 point season.
This is a great video! Would love to see more of these for other players. Huge fan of the videos where you break down the plays and explain the systems guys are using to have success.
I'm from Germany and these are interesting videos that always keep me up to date with what's happening in the NHL and go beyond results, stats and highlights. thank you and keep it up.
He is truly one of the great players, and it all comes from his stick handling ability and his intelligence at reading a play. Watching him these last few games, what’s truly impressed me was his defensive capability. He’s amazing at breaking up plays, and when he has the puck, it’s very hard to strip him of it.
Really weird thing i found about matthews recently is he doesnt score points on fridays (at least since 2020). Of course, because of hockey night in canada, the leafs dont play very many friday games but he has 3 points on 14 friday games since the 2020 season while being consistently more than a point per game every other day of the week.
So dont bet on Matthews on friday?
That is a truly bizarre statistic
Thirsty Thursdays? 🤔
Friday is his meat and potatoes day
You have become my Favourite hockey news channel REAL fast, Your like the "Baseball Dosen't Exist" for hockey. Keep up the good work
Man, Baseball doesn't exist is so good that I watched many of his videos and I haven't watched a single game of baseball. And yeah this is top tier hockey channel for me also.
Congrats on 100k! A few days ago you were at 90k, glad to see you growing so fast! Love your videos they are all bangers. Keep up the good work 🔥! TDR
Torts said it best… “He could go down as a player, being one of the better players in our league never to win anything.”
The word "could" makes that statement entirely redundant. Replace "could" with "will" and we'll check back later and give credit if it's due or not. Otherwise, a nothing statement.
Torts on Joe Thornton...
Doing all of this while also playing 1C, against top lines, and having 0 pims this season.
I'm a huge Ovi fan that wants him to pass 99's record, but I think it would be great if Matthews did it too. He has to be as consistent as Ovi has been to do it. If you look at the goal scoring pace of Bossy and 66, they too would have crushed 99's record if they were healthy and consistent. Consistency and health is everything when it comes to extraordinary goal scorers.
99's epic scoring seasons were when he was on an insanely stacked team. When he went to LA he was still in his prime and he was a 30 - 40 goal scorer with one 54 goal season, which was his 8th season.
Lemieux scored 69 goals in his 9th season in 60 games and 69 goals in his 11th season and only played 70 games. He score 35 goals in 43 games when he was 35 years old - he was on pace for 67 goals that season. If 66 was healthy, he would have score over 1000 goals.
You also have to factor in however that the NHL changed goalie equipment so more goals would be scored a game
@@toedrag-release There have been numerous changes to goalie kit, even when Gretz was playing. Goalies are bigger and so is their equipment now than in the 1980s, but the 90s the pads were bigger than now. So you can't really just factor it in one way and say more goals would be scored now because of that. Goals were easier to come by in the 80s, harder in the 90s and 00s, and a bit easier again now, but this is due to a ton of different factors, goalie equipment is just one small factor.
Changes to the position of the blue lines (reducing the size of the neutral zone), making the blue lines wider, reducing the depth of the net to allow for easier wrap arounds, changing the shape of the crease and the rules for goalie interference, penalizing crease clearing, etc all had impacts as well. The game is just so different now than the 80s, because of the number of changes over the years. Hell, the game is quite different now than it was when Ovi was in his 20s.
Matthews gets hurt and misses time every season. I don't see it as at all likely that he's going to continue his pace long term. One of the keys to Ovie doing what he's done is that he stays healthy.
Doesn't that mean that it's even more impressive that he's beaten ovi's pace so far?
@@MajorPenalty Potentially. Matthews had a much better team around him his first several years in the league than Ovie did.
@@exturkconner very fair point! We'll see, I suppose!
@@MajorPenalty Only if you ignore that in terms of actual age he's older than Ovi with less games played
Matthews is a good goal scorer
That’s so random and so true at the same time
I like this guy's take
Auston Matthews is a good guy at sports.
I thought from the thumbnail that he either lost a contact or was prostrating to pray.
Nobody will replicate Ovechkins longevity. Ever.
Ovi's impressive due to his consistency and durability. Matthews has had some injury issues. If hes still at this pace in a few more years and shows a bit more consistent health hes def got a shot at it. But even Ovi seems to finally have had age catch up to him. I don't think hes catching Gretz anymore.
16-17 season to this moment Mathews 512 games and Ovechkin 540 games.
Matthews 327 goals
Ovechkin 303 goals.
After 31 of age Ovie has been healthier than Prime Matthews. I wish more 82 game seasons to Matthews
Does Matthews play defense? I'm pretty sure Ovi never has.
he'll get close enough to where he'll play an extra season to do it. When you're that close, you'll find a way to get it done even if it means being purely a PP specialist with limited ice-time in your late 30s
@@OPFlyFisher304Part of what makes Matthews more impressive in my eyes is that he does this at center while Ovi’s done it on the wing. Wingers have a lot more freedom to take risks and play with an almost entirely offense-only mindset, whereas centers, whether they like it or not, HAVE to defend. It’s becoming more lax as the game evolves, but Matthews is miles better defensively than Ovi ever has been except for MAYBE the year when Ovi won the cup… but even then, I doubt it.
Matthews is putting up a faster goal-scoring pace than Ovechkin while playing the harder position and dealing with more injuries. It’s pretty remarkable to witness.
Also OV's first 8 seasons he had 371 goals, so he's about a season ahead, plus he lost half a season because of a lockout (would've been a 50-60 goal season too).
As a VGK fan, it’s just funny that the leafs have had to go through all of this pressure and disappointment in a heated Toronto market, and yet I’m a desert rat that didn’t watch a single ounce of hockey before vgk’s inaugural season, and we win the Stanley cup in our sixth year, without any proven bona fide superstar in our franchises history (except Eichel and maybe fleury) Then I see that Toronto hasn’t won a cup since ‘67, and I just can’t help but feel sorry for the 55 years of Toronto fans that haven’t seen a cup :/
Great piece man, really enjoy your productions.
Matthews now, I'm curious about how will Bedard look in 500 games
Your videos are great and informative. Congrats on all your success.
I love this channel. Every video I learn something about strategy, the players, or just fun facts. Always excited to see a new video pop up on my feed.
great videos man...best i've found on hockey
A whopping 12 goal difference... The Record Book is Shaking.
they add up man
@wyldrice Over the span of a career. Matthews is a phenom. Nobody is arguing that. It took 20 years for The Russian Train to slow down, and he's not even retired. Maybe he pulls a Chelios and chugs along for 4 years at 20 Goals a season... then we can say 'they add up'.
@@wyldrice I agree Chairman Zena
@@joseph836 lol
believe in the russian diesel @@IHaveTheSchwartz
Dan Marino was a great QB, statistically top 2 before Brady. All those goals look cool on paper, if he doesn’t bring cups it won’t matter. He could score 1000 goals and Gretzky will still be the goat.
Yeah, I'll take Kucherov. Who unironically score his career 300th tonight. All the individual stuff is distractions. It's nice to hear someone played their 500th game or scored X but the announcers should just leave it and move on
It won't matter to you*
@@jimknowlton342 it won’t matter to leafs fans or any team he plays for fans if he cant win a cup. He’ll be the next Marcel Dionne. Name written in history on paper not a name etched in silver on the cup.
So tired of hearing if they don't win a cup what they have accomplished means nothing.
ITS A TEAM SPORT. Lemieux, Gretzky, Hull, Hull,
Howe, Orr, Esposito, Bourque etc did not win Cups on their own, none of them were singlehandedly responsible for a Stanley Cup. Period
100k subs congrats 🎉🎉🎉 You deserve it
As a leafs fan who’s had to suffer for 22 approaching 23 years it’s nice to have be able to watch Matthews in our colors
try 49 years of suffering lol
@@wayneholmes9081 my dad is 62 so he was born right when the leafs won the cup obviously if we was alive he wouldn’t have seen it or remembered, the best thing we have is the 2015 blue jays 🥲
Im sorry that you’re a leafs fan. Must be hard.
Congrats on 100k
Lets go! We hit the 100K subs!! Congrats dude!!
Love your channel bro!
Keep up the videos man, love your videos on the game
So...Wow.
1 - Ovi did what he did in the dead puck era, the goalie era. 1-0 wins were more frequent than a typical 7-3 game you'll see every single night nowadays.
2 - Ovi came into the league TWENTY YEARS AGO almost. Back then, we barely talked and/or knew about concussion, and being an exceptional goal scorer wasn't enough. You had to be so much more. You had to be the toughest guy around. You basically HAD to be what we call a "power forward" nowadays (you know, the type of players that are rarer each season?).
3 - When a modern goal scorer that is also a center, that is big, gets shutdown every post season because of the normal physicality that comes with it, what else can he do to contribute when his whole line isn't doing anything? Not much it turns out (source : 5 Leafs post season). It's bad for moral too, for the whole team. Ovi and his team did have their own post season demons, but if Ovi can't score, he's FAR from being dead weight. He's grind like a 4th line grunt if he has to, no issue.
4 - Ovi is a cup champ. He has been one of the face of the league 20 years. NOBODY (outside of Toronto's bubble) would even put both players into the same conversation.
Even with the Pens dynasty with Crosby Malkin and Fleury, in the dead puck era, AND doing so much more than scoring, OVI still managed to have a PPG record. He did that while less than half of post season goals got scored in much of that era.
Austin? 22 goals in 50 games! 22! And not even a PPG player either with 22 points. Caps lost to cup favorites, while the Leafs lost to Boston, which always got beat the next round, not the Pens within their dynastic prime LOL! They lost to ONE team that got as far as the finals (Habs, 2022?).
Also, how many second round goal does he have? You know, the full 5 games since 2016 he played in. Hint : it's as much you reading this.
Finally, ALL the greats took SEVERE paycut to give their team a chance to win, along with favorable terms/contractual years. From Ovi to Crosby to malkin, to even the McDavid, who is basically paid as much as Austin... Which again, might be okay-ish in Toronto, but everywhere else it's something to joke about. . He's the 4th most paid player in the league right now. If he had to put the ultimate playoff fantasy team, nobody outside of Tor would even choose him lol.
Draisaitl alone has more than TWICE+ AM post season goals, and in 49 games vs 50. Oh and more assists too. 44 points in 50 games vs 77 points in 49 games, while not being afraid a physicality, AND for like 5 millions less in salary. I can't believe in signed for less than the max number of years. IF AM does not start to show he can be more useful than a 4-6M player during the playoffs, NOBODY will want to trade for him, not at that price.
No team without a good to great defensive core + a good to great goalie can even HOPE to reach the finals, let alone with it. So Tor, hope you've learned to like humiliating post seasons, because it's not going to change any time soon.
Oh and your ex savior, the genius GM you used to have that would have fixed everything if XYZ didn't prevent him to his job somehow. Well now he has FULL CONTROL of the Pens, and the results speak for themselves. It's a disaster. You've ALL been worshiping a freaking fraud. Keep it up, it's like a little bonus each post season.
Oh and hockey is a team game at the end of the day, and the goal is to win the cup, or at least get serious postseason success. It's when things starts to matter and when the game is just elevated to such a degree; it's crazy. Regular season star players who can't elevate their game simply can't compare to players like OVI. No matter how many useless goals one score during blowout games.
Please, keep on doing your thesis on one single aspect of regular season your white elephant is good at. It just makes each post season even more hilarious.
What the fuck
The "dead puck" era was 1997 up until the 2004/2005 lockout. There was a period from around 2011 until 2016 where scoring dropped down to those levels again but it's never been referred to as the dead puck era and will probably have people confused if you refer to it as that.
I honestly did not know this or heard your solid points...well done sir!
Old to hockey. Started young watching Horton, Armstrong and Keon on Saturday nights. Orr Amazed all. Like Matthews is doing now.
Excellent description of current skills and development in the game. Very comprehensive and enjoyable work.
Imean.. Ovie scored in a lot of different ways in his 20´s also..
Oh man when he was Mr Highlight reel goal... but he's out of gas now. It happens.
It's been 10 years since I watched hockey actively and now have been watching again and gathering some information about the state of the game and I have never seen a player like him
hes also playing along side arguably the greatest playmaker and set up man in the game in marner
Exceptional video and impossible to argue with. PAPI is the goal scoring GOAT already 💯🔥
My Favorite memory of Austin Matthews was when he he scored a OT winner againist the Dallas Stars.. He skated by the Board with his Hands up in the air basically saying thats right I am a bad ass.. I was at that game on the boards and we made eye contact thru the glass... Sad my favorite Team lost but a lot of respect for a player like that .. Wish he played for the Stars :D
Quite early still for Matthews in relation to what lengths Ovi has gone through but a fun video regardless!
Keep up this type of content
While I do wish there was more deep dive content I do love the synopsis and breakdowns. Far and away my favorite hockey channel
As a Sabres fan, I love seeing Matthews have success. Offense makes for good hockey, and it is good for the sport as a whole.
As long as Matthews doesn’t lose 2+ seasons of his career due to lockouts and suspended seasons like Ovechkin did he has a great shot at the record.
Also, Ovechkin only scored 32 and 38 goals in his 6th and 7th seasons because of lousy coaching philosophy. Ovechkin could already be ahead of Gretzky right now if not for those things happening.
Didnt matthews lose some time to the Pandemic though? Short seasons and all?
@@booradley6832 a little bit. Ovechkin lost what would have been his rookie year and then had a season cut down to 48 games due to a lockout.
Even if we assume he only would have gotten ~30 goals in his rookie year due to him being a year younger, he would have easily had another 20 if he got the full 82 in the lockout shortened season.
So realistically he would have 50+ more goals right now if not for lockouts.
Matthews has great positioning, dexterity and poise.
Love the video! Could you do a breakdown of Pastrnak's game too?
This was a great video. Very well thought out and explained. And Matty finally getting some attention. Love that💙
Mr. Beast of hockey. You’re the greatest hockey channel. Keep it up man.
Consistency is key here. I’d love to see Matthew’s break it, but doing it year in and year out for 15+ years is exponentially harder than for 5 years. 10 years ago everyone was talking about Ovi vs Stamkos and why Stamkos is the better scorer since he scores in all different ways… It’s interesting to see how those comparisons age.
Matthews is currently top 5 goals per game over a career all time and he's 26. He's generational and that's without question. Hate him or the team all you want, he's one of the greatest goal scorers ever.
Yup and around 6-7 years ago everyone was talking about Laine vs Matthews!
That Sabres goal Matthews got at 7:11 ...I'm still thinking that was meant as a pass.
@@sumofit4475 sure looked like a pass or rebound play to me. Not every goal is intentional.
Grew up in Toronto, I’d be lying if I said as a child I didn’t resent hockey. I liked other sports and Canadian media would just play hockey highlights over and over and as a result I never learned the game on a deeper level. Those feelings are long gone, and watching videos like this where it gives you a small breakdown on lingo like “linear cross” helps and builds my appreciation for the game in general.
Good. Thanks. Merry Christmas.
Got to give some props to Marner. The guy can read the ice very well. One of the best playmakers in the game today.
Great video. Thank you!
NHL fan right here loving every second of this conversation.
He creates a lot of those offensive zone turnovers himself, one thing I notice about Matthews is how quick his stick is wether it’s lifting another players stick , getting the shot off or making the quick pass. He might not have the softest and most flashy hands in the league but definitely one of the quickest.
As a life long Maple Leafs fan, Auston Matthews is an AMAZING goal scorer, definitely one of the best.I am a huge huge fan of his. However, Ovechkin was always a better player, he's more gritty, and he plays with more passion. It's similar to people who compared Lindros to Lemieux. They were both exceptional players, but Lemieux overall was a better player.
Matthews is absolutely insane. To be close to a goal a game pace in today's NHL is unreal.
But can he maintain that level of dominance well into his 30s like Ovi did? I think that's the real question.
Yeah thats a good point. We knew ovi was getting old but i dont think anyone saw his goal production dropping this drastically over one year
Can someone tell me the name of the instrumentals in the background
I've watched every game in awe that opponents leave him the amount of space they do. You can not be caught puck-watching when talents such as Ovi, Matthews or McDavid are on the ice.
Continually the best NHL videos on the world wide web
Im not particularly new to hockey as i grew up with my grandparents always watching the leafs, I know most of the rules and have been to a few games, but im really starting to pick it up more so thanks for these videos! I dont catch every one, but when i do they really help! Im a soccer fan most of the time but ive always loved hockey, just was kinda hard to watch because i moved to america from canada a little while ago. Sucks being a Toronto fan and Man United fan, havent seen either one win the league in my lifetime…
So glad I saw this before the Columbus game tonight because the goal he just scored highlights every point of this video PERFECTLY and I may not have noticed without the info I learned from this video. Good in speed selection, perfect route, intelligent shot, good positioning after o-zone turnover, is all there and I probably wouldn’t have specifically been able to notice any of it without this awesome video
Another great video!
I think Mathew is a fantastic player. I also have to believe Bossy had these kind of numbers through 511 games. The point is staying healthy and sustaining scoring for such a long time is a tribute to Ovi’s overall skill longevity.
Remember, Bossy played only 10 seasons, and 51 plus goals every year but the last, shortened by injury. 365 goals in his first 466 games. Mathews is not putting up those kind of numbers. He is TODAYS best goal scorer, but I don't think he will get up to the ranks of Gretzky or Ovi. He might get close to Hull if he keeps away from injury.
Another great video
I love your breakdown of the numbers and explaining why players are the way they are and why they play the way they do. I wasn't aware of Mathews numbers overall (outside of tracked stats for pools). This is a great breakdown. I look forward to more of these and will suggest your channel to all of my hockey friends.
I remember when people were saying the same things about Stamkos in his first 5 years in the league. Is Stamkos still the generational goal scorer everyone said he was 10 years ago? The truth is it's difficult to maintain a pace that could catch Gretzky or Ovechkin and it's way too early to Matthews in this conversation. It's almost unfair to Matthews tbh. 1 50-goal season in 10 years. He also has trouble playing the full 82 game season. I think he finishes his career goal total somewhere in the 700's, if he maintains a pace similar to this season or last season.
I mean Stamkos basically is ovechkin 2.0. He managed to play all 82 games 5 times and played all 48 during the lockout season and played 81 the last 2 seasons before this year. Despite having a couple significant injuries like crosby in the 2010s he still had the second most goals in the 2010s decade only behind ovi and like crosby he always picked up right where he left off pre-injury. Ofc Ovi and Stamkso have been linked to generational pure goal scorer status but yes I agree matthews while it is still a little early i can't help but put him in that convo too if he keeps these absurd paces up
I think the psychology is the key to understanding this. You highlight how a lot of Matthews goals come from taking advantage of opponents mistakes, missing a shift in position, not thinking a player will shoot given his positioning or game state. Playoffs are a whole different animal and teams can focus on what he does differently for a whole series.
His regular season points per game is 1.14, playoffs is .88.
I see most people seen to like this topic but I find it annoying... did you know that if Matthews finishes this year strong, and then has 10 straight 50 goal seasons - he still wont break Gretzky's record? (BTW, the only season Matthews got 50 or more goals was once when he got 60, and he should do it this year too). Let's start talking about this when he is at 700 goals or something (his 327 is not even half way to 700 let alone 900)
It may be true that he could do it, but the big thing with ovi is that, until this year, he was still doing it late into his 30's. Ovi also rarely misses games. I'm not saying it's impossible with Matthews, but its not worth thinking about until he's still doing it 7 years from now or whatever.
Never been a big fan of Matthews or the Leafs, but would still love to see someone beat Gretzky's records
Flyers fan here. Auston Matthews has the best wrist shot I’ve ever seen. And if we were to have a fantasy draft in real life and I had the #1 pick, it would be Auston Matthews with a bullet.
Let’s also take a moment to celebrate that we have seen Matthews, Stamkos and Ovechkin play in the same era. That’s an incredible amount of elite shooting between 3 players.
Ovi had to deal with the dead-puck era, Matthews has benefitted from the more offensive rules for his career. He does have the occasional great year followed up with disappointing ones. You go from 60 goals, back to 40, and that is a pretty big dip. He needs to string together 7+, 50 goal seasons to even be remotely considered. He ain't catching Gretzky, you guys are just creating hype due to boredom.
Im a Bruins fan but im going to admit this guy is one of the graetest of all times
@@somebody9889 fair point
Fans do not hate the Leafs. They hate Leaf fans. Not the same thing. Any “hockey” fan has to recognize what a great player Matthews is. Certainly the most prolific scorer in the game right now. The emergence of this calibre of player bodes well for the game wherever he plays. Hopefully in 12 years we will still be watching him and wondering if there is a kid out there who might beat the Matthews record.
Dude you're wrong
I really do hate the Leafs
I hate everything Toronto, because in the Canadian sense, it really is the centre of the Canadian universe and it makes me sick.
I think Matthew's will score at a great pace in his 30s as well . His release and hockey iq will carry him , similar to Brett hull in his older days. And thank you for this video , I knew Matthew's had a good hockey iq but didn't know it was This good. Just found your channel a couple weeks ago and anybody who likes hockey should be watching your channel. The weekly video you do is great of what's going on in league.
As a Leafs fan I don't think Matthews will become the best Goal Scorer of all time. The man hasn't played a full 82 game season since his Rookie years & is injury prone. I expect Matthews to get into the Top 10 of all time & quite possibly Top 5, but 1st or 2nd? I don't think so personally
I feel like everyone loves to just ignore the insane longevity OV has had. Matthews is pacing slightly better yes, but he needs to still be scoring 40 a year in his late 30s as OV has done, which is INSANELY rare.
Oh, please....
Check Ovechkin at 32-37
32 years old, 49 goals
33 - 51
34 - 48
35 - 24 ( in 45 games, which is a 44 goal pace over 82 games)
36 - 50
37 - 42
That is insane.
Check Wayne, Jagr, Brett Hull
Hull never scored 50 past 30 years of age, never got 40 past 32.
Jagr scored 30 goals at 34, 25 goals at 35. Jagr, the ageless one dropped significantly.
Wayne scored 38 at 32 years of age and never hit 30 again.
Matthews has shown that he is not as durable as Ovechkin.
The goals past 32-33 will set Alex apart.
I predict Matthews gets around 725 (which is HUGE, but he is not catching Howe, Ovechkin or Gretzky).
Matthews hits so many posts and crossbars too. Its insane how many shots and chances the guy gets every single game.
Whats most important is not goals per game but goals/year. The missed time he's had may cost him, and more importantly if he misses more time as he ages. Matthews has had 299 goals in his first 7 seasons vs 339 for Ovie because he missed less time
this man is like the baseball doesn't exist of hockey, i love it.
Matthews is going to be an all time great goal scorer no doubt, but comparing his stats to Ovis isn't really fair because scoring is up league wide compared to when Ovi was in his prime. In the last two seasons there have been 3 different players who have hit 60 goals, before that there 2 players who hit 60 goals since ovi came into the league in 2005.
Matthew's positioning & route changes without the puck kind of remind me of Milan Hejduk but even better. Hejduk wasn't the fastest skater or hardest shooter, but he found open ice and had had a good release/shot selection.
…and I was worried you were going to say the opposite! I’m totally ready to hear this! I’m not sure when the Leafs became the Nickelback of the hockey world, but it’s great to see them doing well. Go Leafs Go!
great video but whats up with the omnious bgm... (not negative, just asking)
Great analysis.
Love your videos
I love Mathews. Been a leafs fan my whole life and we’ve never had a top 3-5 player
It’s fun to watch and I really hope he gets some playoff success to shut up all the haters.
He’s the best goal scorer possibly ever , just enjoy the show.
I think bedard will be a top 5 goal scorer of all time right behind Matthew’s
Hype is another problem, 8 year olds hype him up to a crazy degree and they all honestly degrade him. But Auston Matthews definitely has a good chance to be one of if not the greatest American player of all time if he’s consistent with his points.
Its unfortunate that his raw talent doesn't translate to his hate to loose. He likes to score goals more than making his linemates better and winning.
Man Brett Hull in the early 90’s deserves way more love.
theres definitely room to see where matthews goes with it, but im also curious about where mcdavid will end up slotting into all of this because i think it's possible for him too
He has the potential to succeed! Only time will tell!
Bedard has how many goals playing on a team with no one else? Give it 5 years. Ovi scored 65, and over 50 9 (NINE) times. That's more than McDavid did on his wagon year last year. Matthews has yet to perform even close to what Ovi did in the playoffs. He's the opposite of clutch. Talented sure. Entitled? Even more so. Wait until he doesn't have Marner feeding him absolutely dishes