The NHL Network brought up a great question, when Auston Matthews retires, will he have passed Patrick Kane as the best US born hockey player? What do you think?
I do believe at a minimum, Matthews will have to win a Stanley Cup if he ever wants to be considered the best American-born player to play the game of hockey.
People outside of Toronto, please keep an open mind, just don’t penalize him because he is playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I don’t believe Matthews has to equal Kane’s three Stanley Cup’s to pass him as the best US born hockey player. If Matthews continues winning Rocket Richard trophies and can add one or two more Hart Trophy wins along with one Stanley Cup, that could make him the best US born hockey player.
Of course, staying healthy for the remainder of his career is another factor in this debate.
Feel free to leave comments below.
If you are interested when Auston Matthews is playing on TV, you can check out the Toronto Maple Leafs TV Schedule.
Auston Matthews career stats
| SEASON | TEAM | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 40 | 29 | 69 | 2 | 14 |
| 2017-18 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 62 | 34 | 29 | 63 | 25 | 12 |
| 2018-19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 68 | 37 | 36 | 73 | -9 | 12 |
| 2019-20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 47 | 33 | 80 | 19 | 8 |
| 2020-21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 52 | 41 | 25 | 66 | 21 | 10 |
| 2021-22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 73 | 60 | 46 | 106 | 20 | 18 |
| NHL TOTAL | 407 | 259 | 198 | 457 | 78 | 74 |
