Maple Leafs Auston Matthews Is Laying His Claim on the Hart Trophy

The Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews is having a great season. Is he laying a claim on the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP to his team?

For any hockey fans who don’t know, the Hart Memorial Trophy does not go to the NHL’s best player. Instead, it is an annual award given “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.” The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season.

Last season, Matthews finished second to probably the best player in the NHL – the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid. This season, it seems that Matthews is closing the gap. He’s moving to a new level.

Related: Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ 3-1 Win over the Wild

Matthews Seems to Have Slowed the Game Down

Matthews obviously has slowed the game down, or at least it seems that way. He simply plays the game at a different speed than other players. As he did against the Minnesota Wild, he can catch up to people from behind on the backcheck – even if he’s five or six strides behind when he starts. As his head coach Sheldon Keefe noted, although it takes a lot of effort to catch up, “When he’s really determined he’s usually coming up with the puck.”

The statistics don’t lie. Matthews leads all NHL forwards with 59 takeaways this season (he’s third overall in the NHL). His linemate Mitch Marner noted, “He’s got a sneaky stick. I think a lot more people are really noticing it now. He’s kind of got that Zorro play of quickly getting behind you and getting it off your stick and then turning the opposite way quickly.”

Matthews Dominates Both Offensively and Defensively

Matthews not only can take the puck away on the backcheck, but he can turn up-ice quickly through the neutral zone. He can dominate both offensively and defensively. And, even after a slow start when he missed the first few games of the season, Matthews can really score goals. He was far behind not three weeks ago; but, against the Wild, he scored both the game-tying and the game-winning goals. 

His two goals put him a goal ahead of the Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl with 36 goals on the season. Add to that 28 assists; and, in his 48 games played on the season, he’s now registered 64 points. That’s jumped him both into the Rocket Richard lead but has moved him into a fourth-place tie with Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau in NHL scoring with 64 points. He’s now ten points behind the Florida Panthers’ Jonathon Huberdeau (74 points) and nine behind the Oilers’ McDavid and Draistaitl (who are second with 73 points).

Matthews Started Slowly, But Boy Did He Come On Quickly

What’s so amazing and special about Matthews season is that, as I noted, he missed the first three games because he had offseason wrist surgery. Then he failed to start quickly and only scored seven goals in his first 17 games. On November 23, Matthews had only seven goals while Draisaitl had scored 18, with the Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and the Calgary Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane second with 15. Matthews was tied for 35th place.

"I know what I’m capable of, and I just try to bring it every night."

Amid a defensive snore, Auston Matthews made a couple of game-breaking plays that "without a doubt" has him in MVP contention: https://t.co/1rc904duvE pic.twitter.com/ncGJA3pzQA

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 25, 2022

Obviously, since that humble start, Matthews has been red hot. He leads the NHL and he’s (almost) on pace to hit 60 goals this season. He seems a lock to break Rick Vaive’s franchise goal-scoring record for a single-season of 54 goals set in 1980-81. He needs only 19 goals in the next 31 games to set that team record.

Is There a Chance Matthews Can Win Both the Hart and the Selke Trophies?

Matthews is in a class by himself. He’s always one of the best skaters on the ice. He’s a determined team leader, which with his offensive prowess puts him in consideration for the Hart. He’s also a determined defensive player, which with his defensive prowess puts him in consideration for the Selke.

Who’s to say he can’t get even better?

Related: Maple Leafs’ Bunting Completes Matthews & Marner on the First Line