The Maple Leafs made long-term commitments to Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Is it enough to remake the look and feel of Toronto's defense? Over the past week, ESPN has been compiling a list of the top 100 athletes of the 21st century, including rankings for the top 25 athletes in various sports, including the NHL [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40568433/ranking-top-25-nhl-players-21st-century?ex_cid=twitter_espn]. Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews has been recognized as one of the top 25 NHL players of the 21st century, ranking 15th on the list. He is placed ahead of notable players such as Erik Karlsson, Nikita Kucherov, Marc-Andre Fleury, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jarome Iginla, Anze Kopitar, Pavel Datsyuk, Duncan Keith, Victor Hedman, and Jonathan Quick. The full list is as follows: 1. Sidney Crosby 2. Alex Ovechkin 3. Connor McDavid 4. Patrick Kane 5. Nicklas Lidstrom 6. Nathan MacKinnon 7. Martin Brodeur 8. Henrik Lundqvist 9. Evgeni Malkin 10. Patrice Bergeron 11. Zdeno Chara 12. Steven Stamkos 13. Leon Draisaitl 14. Joe Thornton 15. Auston Matthews 16. Erik Karlsson 17. Nikita Kucherov 18. Marc-Andre Fleury 19. Andrei Vasilevskiy 20. Jarome Iginla 21. Anze Kopitar 22. Pavel Datsyuk 23. Duncan Keith 24. Victor Hedman 25. Jonathan Quick Matthews has amassed 697 points, with 391 goals and 306 assists, in 617 regular and postseason games over eight seasons in the NHL – averaging well over a point per game. With production comes awards and accolades, which Matthews has no shortage of at 26 years old. Without a doubt, his goal-scoring touch has been a standout feature of his career, earning him three Rocket Richard Trophies as the league's top goal scorer in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2023-24 as well as a franchise record for most goals as a rookie with 40. In reflection of that, he also became the first American-born player to score 60 goals twice and his 69 goals in 2023-24 was the most since Mario Lemieux in 1995-1996 and salary cap era. Goal-scoring has never been an issue for Matthews, however. If you can recall, the forward scored four goals in his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators on the road in his rookie season as he went on to claim the Calder Trophy for the 2016-17 season. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpWZoVXJZj0[/embed] In addition to his scoring prowess, Matthews has won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player (first in franchise history), both in the 2021-22 season following a 106-point regular season. On top of these recognitions, here is a list of runner-ups. * undefined * undefined * undefined As noted in the piece, ESPN’s Kristen Shilton writes, “Matthews has collected accolades at an awe-inspiring rate in his young career, putting him on track to be the greatest – and most decorated – Maple Leaf of all time. He's one of just two American-born players to ever win the Hart Trophy, was the first Leaf ever to earn a Ted Lindsay, has three scoring titles and a Calder Trophy. There are few feats Matthews hasn't been able to accomplish thus far.” Despite his numerous individual accomplishments, Matthews has yet to capture a Stanley Cup, the most significant accolade missing from his resume. Nevertheless, his impact on the game and contributions to the Leafs are undeniable. He ranks sixth all-time in the Leafs’ history books in regular season points (649), third in goals (368), third in power-play goals (94), second in overtime goals (12), second in shootout goals (13), fourth in hat tricks (13), third in game-winning goals (61), fourth in multi-point games (191), and first in multi-goal games (77). It’s worth noting that Matthews has achieved these numbers by playing nearly half as many games as the players ahead of him. For example, the Leafs' all-time points leaders are: 1. Mats Sundin, 981 games played, 987 points 2. Darryl Sittler, 844 games played, 916 points 3. Dave Keon, 1,062 games played, 858 points 4. Borje Salming, 1,099 games played, 768 points 5. George Armstrong, 1,188 games played, 713 points 6. Auston Matthews, 562 games played, 649 points Further records for the Leafs can be found here [https://records.nhl.com/tor/records/skater-records/points/most-points-career]. Matthews’ position among these all-time greats underscores his status as one of the premier talents of his generation. As he continues to add to his already impressive legacy, Leafs fans eagerly anticipate the possibility of a championship in Toronto, which would end the club’s 57-year drought without a Stanley Cup. Whether or not this happens remains to be seen, but it would certainly elevate Matthews' standing even further. 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