Auston Matthews has more goals and a higher gpg than Ovechkin age for age. And the gap is about to grow. Can he also make a run at 894?

[jigglysquishy]

When all is said and done, Matthews' inability to be a consistent high end point producer is what will hold him back in all time conversations.

Ovechkin at peak won an Art Ross and has multiple times top 3 in points. Brett Hull finished second to Gretzky in points. Bobby Hull and Esposito each led the league in points multiple times. Even Stamkos has 2012 and 2013.

There's a clear cut top five forwards born in the 1992-1999 window (McDavid, Kucherov, Mackinnon, Draisaitl, Matthews). He is by far the worst playmaker of the bunch. It's getting to the point where he's not good enough to be in that group.

He has by far the weakest playoff resume and performances. He can't crack the top 4 in points. And he consistently misses time.

The other four are either in or tracking to be top 50 all time. And he's just not on their level.

He's shown he's an all time great goal scorer. I hope he can turn the corner and get to that next level. And have a great playoffs and lead the league in points. But so far, I just don't think he has it in him.

 

[WarriorofTime]

The other four are either in or tracking to be top 50 all time. And he's just not on their level.

I hope he can turn the corner and get to that next level. And have a great playoffs and lead the league in points. But so far, I just don't think he has it in him.

I dunno specifics, but if he gets to like 800 goals and 3rd all time, he's going to warrant consideration.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

When all is said and done, Matthews' inability to be a consistent high end point producer is what will hold him back in all time conversations.

Ovechkin at peak won an Art Ross and has multiple times top 3 in points. Brett Hull finished second to Gretzky in points. Bobby Hull and Esposito each led the league in points multiple times. Even Stamkos has 2012 and 2013.

There's a clear cut top five forwards born in the 1992-1999 window (McDavid, Kucherov, Mackinnon, Draisaitl, Matthews). He is by far the worst playmaker of the bunch. It's getting to the point where he's not good enough to be in that group.

He has by far the weakest playoff resume and performances. He can't crack the top 4 in points. And he consistently misses time.

The other four are either in or tracking to be top 50 all time. And he's just not on their level.

He's shown he's an all time great goal scorer. I hope he can turn the corner and get to that next level. And have a great playoffs and lead the league in points. But so far, I just don't think he has it in him.

I struggle with Matthews. I agree that he's been one of the top five forwards in the league for many years now. It wouldn't surprise me if he reached 700 goals. In terms of innate talent, I think he's comparable to a hypothetical injury-free Stamkos.

I find Matthews gets overrated to an obnoxious degree by a small subset of fans. That's not his fault, of course. (But I don't find him anywhere near as strong defensively as his reputation suggests. Solidly above average, sure, but I'm still amazed he was a Selke finalist last year).

There are two obvious strikes against him (so far). Like you said, relative to his peers, he's not a great playmaker. (I know a few vocal critics cry bias when HOH makes that argument against Ovechkin, but we're being entirely consistent here). And Matthews' playoff production has been disappointing (not quite Dionne level, but probably Thornton territory). I'm skeptical that he'll suddenly turn into a strong playmaker. The jury's still out on whether he'll get it together in the spring. (In fact, I think Matthews is probably a Bossy-level goal-scorer, but the difference in their playoff production is so vast, it makes the entire comparison feel absurd).