Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews provided a sobering take on potentially chasing Alex Ovechkin and the NHL goals record.

At the moment, only one active player has a realistic chance: Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. Through 623 career games, as the B/R Open Ice account noted on X, the 27-year-old Leafs center has scored 398 goals —outpacing Ovechkin, who had 391 through the same number of games.

By the historic nature of free agency in hockey, more players, especially great ones, tend to stay with what they know rather than take a chance with what they do not.

Auston Matthews praises Matthew Knies's winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning, highlighting Knies's confidence, personality, and high potential

With the Toronto Maple Leafs heading to the postseason, there are some signs that this team might be better this time around.

Toronto Maple Leafs make a key decision on Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s workload following a tough loss. Find out how the NHL team is managing its stars for the final stretch of the season.

There was a time when Ovechkin thought he had no chance at breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals. In 2016, Ovechkin said during an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that it would be “impossible” to break the record.

Well, so much for the conspiracy theory that the Florida Panthers are throwing games to meet the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.