Auston Matthews eyeing historic goal-scoring milestone ahead of Leafs' 2023/24 NHL season opener

Auston Matthews has been the best player for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past five years.

And now, there is an opportunity to enter a very exclusive list - the 300 goals club. He would be able to achieve this milestone in the first game itself against the Montreal Canadiens on the 11th of October.

He would become the fifth player to reach this milestone with the Maple Leafs after Mats Sundin(420 goals), Darryl Sittler(389 goals), Dave Keon(365 goals), and Ron Ellis(332 goals).

Matthews reaching that milestone in his seventh year as an NHL player is amazing and he has the potential to topple them all.

In the 2016 NHL Draft, Auston Matthews was taken first overall. Shane Doan and Daniel Briere, two Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes players, were idols of Auston Matthews growing up. They encouraged him to pursue a professional career in hockey.

In 2016, Matthews made his NHL debut, which set a new record. He made history by being the first player to ever score four goals in an NHL game.

Matthews won the Hart Trophy for the league's most valuable player following a stellar 2021–22 campaign. He was the first member of the Maple Leafs to get the honour since 1954–1955.

Will Auston Matthews continue his journey with the Toronto Maple Leafs?

The Auston Matthews and Toronto Maple Leafs contract talks continue to be the subject of discussion and rumors. During his interview on NHL Network, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet gave some updates on the situation.

Friedman stated that a contract renewal for Matthews is anticipated, but that the specific date and length of the arrangement are still up in the air. The discussions are reportedly concentrated on a three to five-year contract term.

"The other thing with Toronto is I do believe that they are still talking to Matthews and Nielander about contract extensions. There's a big debate over who's going to go first. ... From what I understand, the Matthews thing is going to happen."

"I think the question is when is it going to happen and what term is it going to happen for? I think it's going to be somewhere between three and five years. And I think it's going to happen, I just don't know exactly when."