Adam Proteau says Auston Matthews is the greatest player in Toronto Maple Leafs history and should have his jersey retired. Who else since Mats Sundin should be considered?
Adam Proteau says Auston Matthews is the greatest player in Toronto Maple Leafs history and should have his jersey retired. Who else since Mats Sundin should be considered?
With Auston Matthews writing himself into the history books Wednesday by becoming the fastest American-born player to reach the 50-goal mark, it’s clear to many that he’s the GLOAT – Greatest Leaf Of All-Time.
If he never plays another game at the NHL level, Matthews should still have his No. 34 jersey retired by the Leafs, hanging up in the Scotiabank Arena with icons including Mats Sundin. And that brings up an intriguing tangent – what Leafs players since Sundin, past or present, are in line to have their jersey number hanging from the rafters of Scotiabank Arena one day?
Let’s break them down into a few categories: locks, maybes, and long shots.
Locks
Auston Matthews: What else can you say about this guy other than to repeat he’s the greatest Leaf this 51-year-old writer has ever seen? Better than Darryl Sittler. Better than Sundin. Better than Borje Salming, Doug Gilmour and all of the Leafs from their heydays in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Matthews’ instincts, soft scoring hands and all-around fundamentals are what separates him from the rest of the pack, and he’s committed to growing his game to include major responsibilities on defense. He’s been better than any Leafs management member could’ve dreamed when they drafted him first overall in 2016. At age 26, the best is yet to come for Matthews, and sometime in the next 10 to 15 years, he should be honored with a jersey retirement ceremony. This is a no-brainer.
Mitch Marner: He hasn’t been quite as spectacular as Matthews, but Marner is an elite playmaker, the likes of which haven’t been Maple Leafs for most of their storied history. Marner’s vision and ability to pivot on a dime makes him an all-time great in Toronto, and given that he’s just 26, there’s still lots more time for him to underscore his status as an all-time great. That said, he’s already done enough to put himself in the rarified air of Leafs icons. He ranks sixth in all-time Leafs scoring, just ahead of Matthews.
Maybes
William Nylander: He can’t help but be a little bit in the shadows of Matthews’ and Marner’s greatness, but Nylander is at least putting himself in the conversation of players who could have their number retired. The Swedish winger is having his best NHL season, but he needs to maintain that level consistently if he’s to be one of the fortunate few to deserve that honor. And now that he’s signed for the long term, Nylander will have every opportunity to cement himself as a Leaf superstar.
Morgan Rielly: Speaking of consistency, Rielly has been a fixture for the Leafs for 11 seasons now – he’s been Toronto’s best blueliner in just about every season he’s been wearing Blue and White – and the 29-year-old has 43 points in 50 games this season, more than the 41 points he had in 65 games last season. His reliability and all-around greatness ensure he’s in the discussion about Leafs' all-time greats, but he needs to have more success in the post-season to get the nod and have his No. 44 retired.
Long Shots
John Tavares: Anyone who is captain of the Buds is a special player, but many of Tavares’ greatest seasons have come when he was playing for the New York Islanders. He’s reliably been a point-per-game player in his Leafs seasons before the current one, and although he’s gone through a bit of a dry spell of late, Tavares can carve out a special place for himself and have his Leafs jersey in the rafters. But it will take him leading the way to playoff success for him to get there. It is not easy and not necessarily likely, but it is still within the realm of possibility.
Tomas Kaberle: One of the smoothest defensemen of his era, Kaberle won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Boston Bruins, but he’s most associated with the Leafs because he was so integral to Toronto’s success in the early 2000s. The Czech blueliner posted at least 40 points in seven of his seasons as a Leaf, including a career-high 58 assists and 67 points in 82 games of the 2005-06 campaign. Kaberle played in four All-Star Games, but when he’s compared to other Leafs greats on defense, Kaberle is a secondary figure. Hard to see him getting his jersey retired.