The Toronto Maple Leafs franchise all-time goal record has been eclipsed. Auston Matthews passed Mats Sundin, by scoring goal number 421 tonight versus the New York Islanders. This is a terrific achievement on a franchise with such rich history. Let’s discuss how Matthews and the Leafs got to this historic moment.
Auston Matthews Goal 421 to Pass Sundin for Most All-Time as Leaf
Let’s discuss Auston Matthews becoming the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise all-time goal scoring record holder tonight versus the New York Islanders. It fell short in his bid for back-to-back hat tricks, but his second of the night was the record setter. Furthermore, one point of Matthews’ career scoring proficiency, has been his pace for the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record. You know, the one Alex Ovechkin is firmly on. Matthews has 421 goals in 664 career games. It was Ovechkin’s 676th game, that he had achieved that amount. Ovi, as he is affectionately known as, currently sits at 912 career goals.
Here’s a look at several milestones in Auston Matthews career#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/aP3z0O4l0o
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 4, 2026
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Matthews has been among the very elite of goal scoring for a long time. One way of looking at it is how long has Matthews been in the league? His rookie season was back in 2016-17. Just for a second compare that to, and back to Ovechkin for a second, but the longevity of the Great 8’s career. We might recall, Ovechkin was the same year as Sidney Crosby was a rookie, 2005-06.
If Matthews plays to within even two-to-three seasons of the total career games that Ovechkin has played in, let’s pontificate just how many goals Matthews could end up with? Even if we take Ovechkin’s career goal-per-game pace after he scored his 421st goal, it would calculate out to have been 0.573, so far. Just say, for example, Matthews plays until he reaches 1300 career games, you would be adding 364 goals to his 421, in any case, nearly 800-career goals, at least. That would be a truly phenomenal total in the big picture of all-time NHL greats.
Then there is the other side of it. Even with all these goal-scoring accolades for Matthews, it is despite there being a dark cloud that seems to hang over him during his time as a Toronto Maple Leaf. That is, quite simply, more success in the playoffs. Despite the regular season success, and even some solid play in the playoffs, the Leafs franchise hasn’t won two rounds in a Stanley Cup Playoff run since 2002. Is 2026 the year they finally breakthrough? It certainly has been some stressful times in that regard, so far.
All-in-all this is a great accomplishment for Matthews. Not to mention, that it is a great accomplishment for the Leafs organization, as a whole.
Of all the greats to have played for the team over the years, to be in the position that Matthews is, is tremendous. It truly is one he should be proud of.
- Auston Matthews 664 gp – 421 g
- Mats Sundin 981 gp – 420 g
- Darryl Sittler 844 gp – 389 g
- Dave Keon 1,062 gp – 365 g
- Ron Ellis 1,034 gp – 332 g
Main Photo Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images