Pettersson is a great player and is emerging as an elite star player, but Matthews goal scoring numbers are just ridiculous. The guy finished 2nd in the rocket twice in his 4 year career, and who knows where he would have finished in those other 2 years where he was hampered with injuries. In his 4 years in the league, Matthews is..
1st in even strength goals (despite injuries)
2nd in goals (despite injuries)
2nd in GPG with .56 over 285 games
And those 2nd places are to Ovi. It's a huge sample size that indicative of how much of an elite goal scorer he is. Since his 40 goal rookie seasons, he's scored at a 45 goal pace the past 3 years (scoring 47 last year).
I think, if healthy, Matthews is a sure bet 45-55 goal scorer going forward with potential to have 60 goal seasons . The only other players I put into that goal scoring bracket are Ovi, Drai, Pasta and possibly McDavid going forward.
Sure Petterson can be the better player, but one playoff run is too small. Players have hot years, season and/or post-season. Large sample size is indicative of the talent level, and for 4 years Matthews has been an elite goal scorer in the league. It surprises me though that people think Petersen is a 100 point potential player, while Matthews is not.