- Auston Matthews is the only Maple Leaf to score 60 goals in a season.
- Matthews has won the Hart Trophy, two Rocket Richards, and the Calder Trophy.
- Mitch Marner led the Maple Leafs in scoring in four of eight seasons.
If you ask a Torontonian what their favourite M&M is, don’t be surprised if the answer is Matthews and Marner.
Without one of the league’s best dynamic duos, the Maple Leafs Stanley Cup odds wouldn’t be among the favourites to win the Stanley Cup.
Matthews and Marner gracefully entered the scene for the 2016-17 season, the pair transforming and revolutionizing the franchise. While both have been instrumental to the team’s regular-season success throughout the last eight seasons, only one can be dubbed the best.
Who Is the Best Player on the Toronto Maple Leafs Today?
Matthews is the best player on the Toronto Maple Leafs, narrowly edging out Marner for the unofficial honour.
While subjective, I’m sure most people would agree with placing Matthews atop the Maple Leafs’ totem pole. And if we’re speaking in boxing terms, his appointment as the team’s best player should be a split decision, even though Marner is often overshadowed, considered by many as Robin to Matthews’ Batman.
Matthews Narrowly Edges Marner as Leafs Best Player
Matthews is the Maple Leafs undisputed best player for 2023-24. That’s about as unambiguous as it gets. Toronto’s most potent scorer has 69 goals in 79 games, scoring at a .87 goals-per-game clip.
He is on the verge of breaking the 70-goal threshold, which would be the first time any player has netted 70 goals since Teemu Selänne and Alexander Mogilny scored 76 in 1992-93.
Matthews surpassed his previous career best of 60 against the Florida Panthers on April 1.
He has 107 points, one better than his previous best set in 2021-22. Matthews is averaging 1.35 points per game, the sixth-best in the league.
His otherworldly play has the Maple Leafs as a contender for the Canadian team most likely to win the Stanley Cup.
Marner has enjoyed another prolific season, too. However, the 26-year-old missed 13 games due to a high ankle sprain, ending his chances of winning the team-scoring race. Marner has 84 points in 67 games (26 goals, 58 assists), an average of 1.25 points per game, slightly below Matthews’ 1.36.
Career Analysis: Matthews vs. Marner
The overarching career analysis and comparison of Marner and Matthews is where it becomes more challenging to decipher between the two superstars.
Matthews is not only the Maple Leafs’ most lethal, pure, and prolific scorer but also the league’s best.
He scored his 51st even-strength goal of the season and 274th of his career on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings, passing legend Mats Sundin for the most all-time. It took Sundin 981 games to score 273, while Matthews accomplished 274 in just 560.
Auston Matthews scored his 273rd & 274th career even-strength goals, passing Mats Sundin for the most in #LeafsForever history.
His 51 even-strength goals this season are the most by any player since Teemu Selanne scored 52 in 1992-93. pic.twitter.com/CFY7uv1hki
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 12, 2024
That astonishing personal accolade is just one of many reasons Matthews should already be considered among the Toronto Maple Leafs best players of all time.
Speaking of personal accolades, Matthews won the Hart Trophy in 2022 and is about to claim his third Rocket Richard Trophy. He also claimed the Calder Trophy in 2016-17, again ahead of Marner, who finished with the fifth-most votes.
You can see why the 26-year-old will be the NHL’s highest-paid player in 2024-25.
Meanwhile, Marner is the ninth-highest-paid Canadian hockey player in 2023-24. He was drafted fourth overall in the 2015 NHL entry draft, while Matthews was taken first overall in 2016.
Both began their careers in 2016-17, almost immediately altering the franchise’s course, turning them into viable Stanley Cup contenders, which the hockey odds reflect in the current campaign.
Marner has 194 goals, 444 assists, and 638 points in 574 games, a 1.11 points-per-game return. Matthews has 368 goals, 281 assists, and 649 points in 560 games, notching 1.16 points per game.
As you can see, the difference in their offensive production is almost negligible. Of course, Matthews has a lot more goals, while Marner has substantially more helpers.
| Season | Goals | Assists | Points | Games | Points Per Game | Team Rank |
| 2016-17 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 77 | 0.79 | Tied 3rd |
| 2017-18 | 22 | 47 | 69 | 82 | 0.84 | 1st |
| 2018-19 | 26 | 68 | 94 | 82 | 1.15 | 1st |
| 2019-20 | 16 | 51 | 67 | 59 | 1.14 | 2nd |
| 2020-21 | 20 | 47 | 67 | 55 | 1.22 | 1st |
| 2021-22 | 35 | 62 | 97 | 72 | 1.35 | 2nd |
| 2022-23 | 30 | 69 | 99 | 80 | 1.24 | 1st |
| 2023-24 | 26 | 58 | 84 | 67 | 1.25 | 3rd |
| Season | Goals | Assists | Points | Games | Points Per Game | Team Rank |
| 2016-17 | 40 | 29 | 69 | 82 | 0.84 | 1st |
| 2017-18 | 34 | 29 | 63 | 62 | 1.02 | 2nd |
| 2018-19 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 68 | 1.07 | 3rd |
| 2019-20 | 47 | 33 | 80 | 70 | 1.14 | 1st |
| 2020-21 | 41 | 25 | 66 | 52 | 1.27 | 2nd |
| 2021-22 | 60 | 46 | 106 | 73 | 1.45 | 1st |
| 2022-23 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 74 | 1.15 | 3rd |
| 2023-24 | 69 | 38 | 107 | 79 | 1.36 | 1st |
Marner enjoyed his best season in 2022-23, notching 99 points in 80 games. He’s led the Maple Leafs in scoring in four of the eight seasons: 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-23.
Matthews’s total mirrors Marner’s, also winning the Maple Leafs scoring race in four of the eight campaigns: 2016-17, 2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24.
One crucial category in which Marner is at the top is how the team performs in their absence. Since 2018-19, the Maple Leafs are 24-12-0 when Matthews doesn’t play (.667 win percentage) and 18-16-3 without Marner (.529 win percentage).
That particular stat is a testament to Marners’ remarkable influence, both on and off the ice.
Who Is the Top Goal Scorer in a Season for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Matthews also sits atop this list and has the most and second-most goals by any Maple Leaf in a single season.
Matthews set the record in the 2023-24 season when he scored two goals against the Florida Panthers on April 1, surpassing the previous record he set, 60, in 2021-22.
He has 69 goals with two games remaining in the 2023-24 season. Rick Vaive scored 54 in 1981-82, while Dave Andreychuk (53 in 1993-94) and Vaive again (52 in 1983-84) round out the top five.
