Joe Thornton has been around plenty of good players during his time with the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and Canadian Olympic teams, but like many Toronto Maple Leafs fans, the 41-year-old is in awe of Auston Matthews.
"He's on a different level," Thornton said after Toronto's 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, according to The Hockey News' David Alter. "He just competes so hard. I think he should be up for ... the Selke, Hart, Rocket.
"He does so many things and he just plays the game the right way. I really enjoy watching him play and playing alongside him. He's the complete package."
Matthews extended his lead in the race for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy with his NHL-best 14th goal in his 16th game of the season Wednesday.
The 23-year-old phenom may have a legitimate case for the Hart Trophy - awarded to the league MVP - as his 9.6 expected goals above replacement entering Wednesday was the best in the NHL, according to Evolving Hockey. Connor McDavid currently leads the league in points and ranks just two spots behind Matthews with 7.2 xGAR.
The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded to the league's best defensive forward. Matthews has made strides defensively and is tied for third in the NHL with 14 takeaways, but his offense constitutes all of his positive xGAR value (9.7 xOff, -0.8 xDef).
Sergei Fedorov is the only player in NHL history to win the Selke and Hart in the same season (1993-94). No player has won the Selke while leading the league in goals since the league began awarding the "Rocket" Richard in 1998-99.
