Auston Matthews sets single-season goals record for Toronto Maple Leafs

With his 61st goal of the season, Auston Matthews has set a Toronto Maple Leafs team record in goals in a single season, breaking his own record set two years ago.

Matthews is the only Maple Leaf to score 60 in a season, doing it first in 2021-22. He’s the only active NHLer to score 60 twice in a career, having hit the milestone on Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres.

Rick Vaive previously held the record with 54 goals in 1981-82. Four players have combined for seven 50-goal seasons in Toronto, with Rick Vaive holding the record by doing so three times.

The goal came at 14:32 in the first period against the Florida Panthers after he knocked in a close-range feed from defenseman TJ Brodie. Nicholas Robertson opened up the scoring at 13:59 with his 12 of the season, beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a quick deke after getting sprung down the ice by Matthew Knies.

Drafted No. 1 overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Matthews has been one of the league’s most prolific goal scorers. Now in his eighth season, he’s only had two seasons where he scored less than 40 goals (2017-18, 2018-19), but he played fewer than 70 games in both situations.

Matthews has 61 goals and 96 points in 73 games, putting him on pace for 69 goals and well over 100 points. Matthews set a personal-best of 106 points in 2021-22 before falling to 85 last season.

Of his 61 goals this season, 46 of them have come at even strength, meaning he could hit 50 even-strength goals before the regular season is over. Over his 553-game NHL career, Matthews has 360 goals and 638 points. Since scoring four goals in his debut against Ottawa in 2016-17, no player has scored more goals than Matthews, with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl sitting second with 323 goals in 601 games.