Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews 'Trying to Win a Stanley Cup' — Not Break Gretzky's Goal Record
Auston Matthews
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Auston Matthews is 527 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record as the NHL's leading goal-scorer. But that didn't stop the NHL Network from asking the two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner if he is thinking of catching the Great One.
“Not really," Matthews told hosts Kathryn Tappen and Jason Demers during the 2024 NHL Regular Season Awards Show on Saturday afternoon. "Obviously, my No. 1 most important thing — the goal that we’re all after, all 32 teams, every single guy in the league — is trying to win a Stanley Cup.
"That’s at the front of my mind and that’s what I’m working towards and going after every single day."
Matthews, who led all players with 69 goals this season, has scored 368 goals in 562 career games. At his current pace, he could match Gretzky's record of 894 goals in 1,417 games.
It took Gretzky 1,487 games to reach that total.
However, as Matthews noted, it's more likely that Alex Ovechkin, who is 41 goals back of Gretzky's record, will reach that mark sooner.
"I don’t love talking about it because with what Ovi’s done and how close he is, I don’t like taking the shine away from him and what he’s been able to do and what he’s done for the league," Matthews said of Ovechkin, who has 853 goals in 1,426 games.
"He kind of paved the way for other players coming in. With him being so close, it’s unbelievable and it’s crazy to think that someone in this league has scored [853] goals in his career and is closing in on, arguably, the greatest player of all time."
Still, it's worth noting that Matthews is scoring at a rate of .650 goals per game through nearly eight full NHL seasons. In Ovechkin's first eight years, he scored 371 times in 601 games — a rate of .617 goals per game.
In other words, even if Ovechkin breaks Gretzky's record, chances are that Matthews could break it again.
"We’ll see, but that’s still a ways away from even being a possibility," said Matthews. "I’ll just kind of keep it in the back of my mind and just continue to press along here.”
