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Auston Matthews Squashes Talk of Chasing New Ovechkin Record
Auston Matthews doesn’t want to get into conversations about him chasing the new goal-scoring record set by Alex Ovechkin.
Alex Ovechkin officially became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer on Sunday, passing Wayne Gretzky and cementing his place in hockey history. Almost as fast as fans could celebrate his achievement, others were making new comparisons, citing Auston Matthews and his goal-scoring pace. Many have pegged the elite sniper as the next to break the record.
Matthews wants nothing to do with the comparisons.
The Toronto Maple Leafs star has scored more goals than Ovechkin did through the same number of games to start their respective careers. With Matthews just two goals shy of the 400-goal mark, conversations are already heating up about whether he could one day challenge Ovechkin’s new record — and even Wayne Gretzky’s legendary mark.
Matthews quickly tried to squash any talk of him ever getting there. “That’s such a long way to go,” Matthews said when asked about the possibility of chasing Ovechkin or Gretzky’s records. “I don’t think I should even be in that conversation. This guy just broke the record. I’m so far away from that, and I don’t think the focus should really be on me.”
Two Problems With the Theory Matthews Can Catch Ovechkin
There are two major hurdles Matthews will face if he ever actually stands a chance to catch Ovechkin’s record. First, Ovechkin is not done. Just because he hit 895, it does not mean he’ll end with 895. Ovechkin will inevitably extend his lead over Gretzky and, ultimately, that will be the record Matthews would have to break.
Second, Matthews has missed 72 games over nine NHL seasons — compared to Ovechkin’s 75 in 20 seasons (only 37 due to injury). Ovechkin has a history of staying healthy, while Matthews does not. The Maple Leafs’ center remains one of the most consistent and dangerous goal-scorers in the game today, but it only matters if he can stay in the lineup.
Matthews is on pace, there is no doubt about that. However, like he said, there’s a long way to go before having this conversation actually makes any sense.
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