Auston Matthews is notably one of the best NHL players in the league. Matthews has only played with the Toronto Maple Leafs for nearly five years. Every year, Matthews has made significant contributions to his team and he keeps improving.
Career Overview of Matthews
Selected first overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Matthews was eager to get out on the ice to play some hockey. The expectations were pretty high for this rookie, but he certainly exceeded all of them and more.
During his first game, he shined bright on the ice for the Leafs, netting four goals against the Ottawa Senators. This alone made the NHL history books for this young and rising NHL star. Matthews is noted as the first hockey player to score four goals in his first game.
Matthews’ performance was good enough for him to be named to the 2017 NHL All-Star Game. His contributions do not stop there, though. His hard work and good teamwork abilities led the Leafs to go to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Matthews has good hockey skill and can make big contributions to the team. However, for Matthews, he not knows how to score goals, but also rack up on plenty of points. At the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Matthews completed the season with 73-points, notably a career high for him.
Matthews’ Long-Term Future
In 2019, Matthews entry-level contract was set to expire. However, the Leafs knew they needed to keep a good player like Matthews. So, Matthews inked a five-year deal with the team that is worth $58.17 million.
Of course, expectations will be higher for Matthews. But this doesn’t seem like a tall order for the 23-year old hockey center to fulfill. Right now, Matthews has been exceeding those expectations as usual.
Most recently, Matthews has performed pretty well during the first month of the NHL season.
The Leafs came off an unfortunate 3-0 loss the the Flames Monday, Feb. 22. Despite this, the entire Leafs hockey squad has been performing quite well, including Matthews himself. Matthews has recorded 18 goals so far.
A condensed 56-game hockey season this year will likely make the game much more fast-paced than usual. Regardless of the matter, it seems like Matthews isn’t afraid of the challenge. With 18 goals already accrued early in the season, there seems to be no doubt that he will probably have many more goals at the end of the season.
Matthews fills in all the checks of a top NHL player. He is one that every NHL team wants on their roster. If Matthews can continue to play at the level he has been playing, there is no doubt that he has a bright hockey career ahead of him.
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