{"id":395554,"date":"2026-01-07T13:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/395554\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T13:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:08:12","slug":"auston-matthews-honored-in-maple-leafs-pregame-celebration-after-surpassing-mats-sundin-as-torontos-all-time-leading-goal-scorer-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/395554\/","title":{"rendered":"Auston Matthews honored in Maple Leafs pregame celebration after surpassing Mats Sundin as Toronto\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustonMaple Leafs celebrate Auston Matthews\u2019 record with special pregame ceremony (Image via: twitter) Auston Matthews etched his name into Toronto Maple Leafs history as the team honored him in a pregame ceremony at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs celebrated their captain becoming the franchise\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer, a milestone that underscores his remarkable scoring ability and consistent impact since joining the team. Matthews surpassed Mats Sundin\u2019s long-standing record with his 421st NHL<\/a> goal, scored against the New York Islanders on Saturday. The ceremony featured Sundin presenting Matthews with a commemorative plaque that included pucks from his 420th and 421st goals, along with the official game sheet. <\/p>\n

Auston Matthews honored with custom Maple Leafs Jerseys, Mats Sundin joins celebration<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs marked the occasion with custom T-shirts worn by players, featuring artistic renditions of Matthews and the words \u201cToronto Maple Leafs all-time goals leader.\u201d In his 10th season with Toronto, Matthews has already claimed the NHL\u2019s Maurice \u201cRocket\u201d Richard Trophy three times, leading the league in goals in 2020-21 with 41, 2021-22 with 60, and 2023-24 with 69. His scoring consistency has made him a central figure for the franchise and a key player in their offensive strategy.Speaking about Sundin\u2019s presence, Matthews said, \u201cIt means a lot. To have Mats come in, and to have so many players pave the way who have worn this jersey, it\u2019s very special and I\u2019m very very appreciative.\u201d Sundin watched the ceremony alongside former teammate Tie Domi and Domi\u2019s son Max, who is now a forward with Toronto. Max made his own mark during the game, drawing the crowd\u2019s attention with a notable altercation against Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.Sundin reflected on Matthews\u2019 rapid pace to the record, noting that Matthews reached 421 goals in just 664 games, compared to his own 420 goals in 981 games. \u201cI thought it might take him a little longer,\u201d Sundin said with a laugh. He added that witnessing history and records being broken is meaningful, particularly for those who have worn the Maple Leafs jersey. Matthews\u2019 achievement not only honors his talent but also reinforces his role as a central figure in the team\u2019s ongoing pursuit of success.Also Read: Auston Matthews redefines Toronto Maple Leafs history with record goals and a defining NHL hat trick benchmark<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs celebrate Auston Matthews\u2019 record with special pregame ceremony (Image via: twitter) Auston Matthews etched his name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[532,50224,5,20,8802,5172,11852,2315,4,22112,50225,66,31,5171],"class_list":["post-395554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-auston-matthews","tag-goal-scoring-record","tag-hockey","tag-maple-leafs","tag-maple-leafs-history","tag-mapleleafs","tag-mats-sundin","tag-matthews","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-all-time-goal-scorer","tag-sundin","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-torontomapleleafs"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115853977511685614","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}