What will it take for Matthews to be the best Leaf ever?

[RevengeOfTheDrai]

Matthews is expected to become #1 all time goalscoror for the Leafs. According to an article, he is currently the fifth best all time Leaf, and he still has half of a career left.

Leaf all time rankings:

This got me thinking, will Matthews become the greatest Maple Leaf in history? And what will it take?. I’d say a trip to the Stanley cup final along with a few more Rockets or one Hart will do it. It’s a 32 team league now, but playoff success will still be vital.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Win.

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

Disgusting to see his name in with some of those greats.

 

[MoneyManny]

The greatest Leaf without a cup maybe.

Can you be called the greatest of any game you haven't beat?

 

[pb1300]

Isn’t this a Stanley Cup sub-forum. Can we take the Leafs threads elsewhere. Jesus. This has zero to do about the playoffs.

 

[PuckG]

I think Matthew’s can get after the Rocket again, but I don’t think he’ll ever touch the Hart again. Competition is too stiff.

Aside from that - he needs to win.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Matthews is expected to become #1 all time goalscoror for the Leafs. According to an article, he is currently the fifth best all time Leaf, and he still has half of a career left.

Leaf all time rankings:

View attachment 1042710

This got me thinking, will Matthews become the greatest Maple Leaf in history? And what will it take?. I’d say a trip to the Stanley cup final along with a few more Rockets or one Hart will do it. It’s a 32 team league now, but playoff success will still be vital.

Wtf is that list?

Plenty of Toronto greats missing.

Apps Sr, Conacher, Cameron, Broda, Kennedy, Horton ... At first I thought it was just a list of scorers but then I saw Bower in there.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Wtf is that list?

Plenty of Toronto greats missing.

Apps Sr, Conacher, Cameron, Broda, Kennedy, Horton ... At first I thought it was just a list of scorers but then I saw Bower in there.

Clancy too.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

What does this have to do with the Stanley Cup playoffs

 

[RevengeOfTheDrai]

I think Matthew’s can get after the Rocket again, but I don’t think he’ll ever touch the Hart again. Competition is too stiff.

Aside from that - he needs to win.

I agree the most important metric is the playoff success; but Ovechkin for example was already considered the greatest Capital before 2018. I’m not saying Matthews is on Ovi’s level, but there’s a good chances he ends up being the #2 or #3 best goalscorer in history. I don’t think Leafs have had a greater talent than that. Mats Sundin Never won a cup and he’s still so highly adored.

 

[Summer Rose]

Isn’t this a Stanley Cup sub-forum. Can we take the Leafs threads elsewhere. Jesus. This has zero to do about the playoffs.

I agree.

Thread moved.

 

[pb1300]

I agree.

Thread moved.

TY!

Nothing. Matthews cant do anything to be the greatest Leafs player ever, because he is a loser in the playoffs. Even if they win the Cup, he will not be leading the charge, because he does not know how to. He is an amazing scorer, but an average leader, especially playoff leader.

 

[banks]

Win a Cup and stay with the team for most of his career. That's it.

 

[BenchBrawl]

To answer the thread, by now Matthews needs a convincing Smythe run to wash off his playoff reputation.

Once this is done, then we can start comparing his RS pedigree against the others in an apples vs. apples way.

His direct comparables will be Conacher (goalscorer) and Apps (top offensive center).

I think he can overtake both, but it's not written in stones. Apps has a Hart record of 2,2,2,3,3 and that's with losing his 29-31 age seasons to WWII. Conacher won 5 Rocket Richard trophies and 2 Art Rosses, although it was pretty weak years and I'd have to recheck the shenanigans that went on with assists counting in the 1930s (I forgot the details I used to know).

Comparing him vs. Kennedy is kind of ackward.

Matthews is not that far off both Apps and Conacher in terms of RS accomplishments, given his age and the probable career progression he will follow, he should be in the same range or better unless he falls off a cliff. But the playoff thing is a real problem, especially when comparing him to all-time greats like Kennedy and Apps, who linchpined a dynasty.

 

[StammerHammer]

One more thread about him might just do it.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Hmm only three leafs have Hart trophies

Hart Memorial Trophy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I think he's in the debate already, he needs to somehow get clearly ahead of Sundin at a minimum, either due to career points or individual accolades. If he wins a single cup it's probably over also.

 

[BenchBrawl]

To answer the thread, by now Matthews needs a convincing Smythe run to wash off his playoff reputation.

Once this is done, then we can start comparing his RS pedigree against the others in an apples vs. apples way.

His direct comparables will be Conacher (goalscorer) and Apps (top offensive center).

I think he can overtake both, but it's not written in stones. Apps has a Hart record of 2,2,2,3,3 and that's with losing his 29-31 age seasons to WWII. Conacher won 5 Rocket Richard trophies and 2 Art Rosses, although it was pretty weak years and I'd have to recheck the shenanigans that went on with assists counting in the 1930s (I forgot the details I used to know).

Comparing him vs. Kennedy is kind of ackward.

Matthews is not that far off both Apps and Conacher in terms of RS accomplishments, given his age and the probable career progression he will follow, he should be in the same range or better unless he falls off a cliff. But the playoff thing is a real problem, especially when comparing him to all-time greats like Kennedy and Apps, who linchpined a dynasty.

As for Keon, same business as Kennedy, really ackward comparison to make with Matthews.

Both Kennedy and Keon were master intangible players with deep playoff successes. I'd certainly take both on my team over AM as of today.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Clancy too.

Eh, right, I always see Clancy as a Senator because of the research I did on that team.

 

[crowi]

Grow balls. Not possible, sorry.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Leafs fans have an embarrassing lack of knowledge about their rich history, on average, I must say.

Not to toot my own horn, but even your average Montreal fan is aware of who Howie Morenz and Aurèle Joliat are. It's not just about Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur.

Meanwhile I'm not entirely sure the Leaf fan on the street knows who Syl Apps Sr is.

 

[pb1300]

Grow balls. Not possible, sorry.

As trolling as it sounds, this is right!

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Wtf is that list?

Plenty of Toronto greats missing.

Apps Sr, Conacher, Cameron, Broda, Kennedy, Horton ... At first I thought it was just a list of scorers but then I saw Bower in there.

Red Kelly much

 

[The Shadow]

I think Matthew’s can get after the Rocket again, but I don’t think he’ll ever touch the Hart again. Competition is too stiff.

Aside from that - he needs to win.

A healthy matthews could. What we saw 2 years ago was 69 goals. This season he looked nothing like that player

 

[boredmale]

A Catchy Theme Song

 

[BenchBrawl]

Red Kelly much

I don't think the Toronto part of Kelly's career is enough to put him in the range of the Apps, Keon, Kennedy at center. Kelly was primarily a great defenseman for Detroit, although he was also a strong center for TO.