NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews – Source: Imagn

There have been few more potent goal scorers in recent years in the National Hockey League than Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. He has won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the top goal scorer in the League in three of the last four seasons.

But after reaching 69 goals in the 2023-24 NHL season, Matthews has seen his goal-scoring production dip considerably this season. Through 46 games played (he missed several games with an injury), he’s only scored 22 goals and is on pace to reach just 30.

While scoring 30 goals would be a fine output for most players, it’s a far cry from what Matthews is accustomed to scoring, and he knows it.

“I’d obviously like to score more,” Auston Matthews said on Wednesday. “I’ll try to stop hitting so many posts, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. Just gotta keep shooting and keep believing… Scoring’s kind of been my thing, but I like to think I’m a complete player.”

Many would argue that Matthews could attribute his drop in goal-scoring to the more defensive-oriented playing system that first-year Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube runs, which emphasizes keeping the puck out of their own net rather than a run-and-gun offensive style.

Auston Matthews and the Leafs will roll the dice on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

Auston Matthews would love to see the Maple Leafs make additions to their roster at the NHL Trade Deadline

In addition to getting honest about his goal-scoring, Matthews also made his thoughts crystal clear on the impending trade deadline. He made no secret about the fact that he would like to see additions made to the roster in a similar fashion as a handful of clubs have already done.

“This time of year, you see teams adding, and you want to add as well,” Matthews added Tuesday per Daily Faceoff. “So I’m sure management and staff are doing a lot of thinking right now, doing a lot of homework and stuff like that, and I’ll leave it in their hands.”

The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand earlier today in a deal with the Seattle Kraken, while the Colorado Avalanche recently picked up both Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey from the New York Rangers; the Edmonton Oilers acquired Trent Frederic from the Boston Bruins.

The Maple Leafs have made significant acquisitions at recent trade deadlines, including Luke Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly in 2023.