Matthews passes Sundin as Maple Leafs' all-time goals leader

Move over, Mats Sundin: There's a new Toronto Maple Leafs goal king.

Auston Matthews scored his 421st career goal Saturday against the New York Islanders to pass Sundin for the most goals in Maple Leafs franchise history.

He established the new benchmark late in the second period on a one-time blast off a feed from Bobby McMann.

The goal was Matthews' second of the game after tying Sundin earlier in the period with a great individual effort.

Sundin had held the record since 2007, when he passed Darryl Sittler with his 390th goal as a Maple Leaf. Sundin played 981 games with Toronto. Matthews accomplished the milestone in 664 contests.

Sundin congratulated Matthews for breaking his record.

"It means a lot, it’s a very historical franchise," Matthews told reporters. "There’s a lot of pride. … I am very humbled. I couldn’t do it without the great group of guys around me."

Matthews ranks fifth in NHL history in goals per game, behind only Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, Cy Denneny, and Babe Dye. Notably, Matthews has scored at a better per-game clip than the league's all-time goals leader, Alex Ovechkin.

Matthews is the only active player to lead an Original Six franchise's all-time goals list. He also owns the Maple Leafs record for most goals in a single season, recording 69 in 2023-24.

Sundin still holds top spot on the club's all-time points list with 987, while Matthews sits fifth with 760.

The Maple Leafs drafted Matthews first overall in 2016. He's won three Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophies, a Hart Trophy, and a Calder Trophy.

Matthews got off to a relatively slow start this season, but he's now up to 20 goals and 33 points in 35 games.