Sundin ‘can’t wait to see’ Matthews break his Maple Leafs goals record

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews took another step towards catching Mats Sundin as the Toronto Maple Leafs' all-time goals leader on Sunday.

And this time, Sundin himself was in the building to see it.

Matthews’ goal at 11:03 of the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena was the 410th of his career, bringing him within 10 of Sundin’s Toronto mark. Given that the Maple Leafs captain has nine goals through the first 16 games of the season, there is a realistic possibility that he could surpass Sundin’s total by Christmas, if not before.

And Sundin is all in on Matthews accomplishing the feat.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Sundin told NHL.com, referring to the prospect of being overtaken by Matthews.

“I mean, he has handled everything here so well. Being drafted first overall by Toronto (in 2016) there were huge expectations on him. It’s the hockey capital of the world. It has the best fans in the world. With the amount of media here, it’s always like the Stanley Cup Final and every detail is examined, and he’s managed to take it all in stride and keep being successful, which is a credit to him.

“We all know Auston is one of the best players in the world, and he keeps producing. I’m really looking forward to watching him this season.”

Matthews was flattered by Sundin’s comments, although he wasn’t really in the mood to talk about personal stats after the Maple Leafs blew a two-goal lead en route to a 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes.

“It does mean a lot,” Matthews said regarding Sundin’s support. “Guys like him and Darryl (Sittler) and Dougie (Gilmour) and Wendel (Clark) and Darcy (Tucker), they kind of paved the way for guys like us to come along.

“Obviously, it’s hard to put that stuff into perspective after a game like this. It’s not really the main focus right now, especially after a game like that where we had the lead up until the last 10, 15 minutes, then gave it up. But obviously coming from a guy like (Mats), it’s super special.”

Sundin, who played 981 games for the Maple Leafs from 1995-2008, was on hand for the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game and took part in a pregame ceremony to help welcome the members of the Hall’s Class of 2025 who were in attendance, a group that included players Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker, and builders Danièle Sauvageau and Jack Parker.

He then watched Matthews and Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal take the ceremonial opening face-off.

“Auston’s not just a superstar, he’s the captain, he’s the leader,” Sundin said. “Guys look up to him. And getting to know him a bit, he’s also a great person.

“I can’t wait to see him break my record.”