Matthews sets Maple Leafs rookie record for goals
Move over, Wendel Clark.
Auston Matthews set a Toronto Maple Leafs rookie record for goals in a season with his 35th on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.
You can watch video of the goal here.
It's been a banner rookie season for the kid from Arizona for a number of reasons, but at 19 years old he's already proven he can score in the NHL, and will do so for a long time.
Auston Matthews is only the 11th player since 1990 to score 35 goals in his first 75 games in the NHL. pic.twitter.com/MqZ92gdYm0
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 29, 2017
Clark scored 34 in his rookie season of 1985-86, but the two players were already linked in Maple Leafs history, as they're the only two first overall picks Toronto has made in the draft.
Matthews leads Toronto with 62 points on the season, and is trailed by fellow rookies William Nylander - who extended his Maple Leafs rookie-record points streak to 12 games with an assist on Matthews' goal - and Mitch Marner.
In fact, Matthews' goal moves him into a tie for fourth in the league with Vladimir Tarasenko, and pushes him one ahead of Patrik Laine for the rookie NHL lead. Laine, though, has played seven fewer games than Matthews.
And all these goals are great for Matthews' wallet.
He's in line for a $2-million bonus - one the Maple Leafs will gladly pay - should he finish in the top 10 in the league, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.
The kids are the future for the Maple Leafs, and it appears the future has arrived a lot earlier than anyone imagined it would.