Toronto Maple Leafs: Why Auston Matthews is a top five NHL centre

Going into his third season with the NHL, Auston Matthews will look to prove that he is among the elite centres in the league but is he among the top five in the league?

There is no question on the impact Auston Matthews has had with the Toronto Maple Leafs since being drafted in 2016 setting franchise rookie scoring milestones and getting recognition as a rising star in the NHL.

Last season he was on pace to improve on the 40 goals. 69 points that he put up in his rookie season but injuries prevented him from doing that. He was on pace to score 45 goals, 38 assists and 84 points give based on his per-game stats.

Defensively he took a bit of a step back in his advanced stats number but a large part of that had to do with his increased usage in defensive situations. Matthews went from starting 37 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone to 49.2 per cent and still managed to have a positive CF% rel of 1.3 (lower than his rookie season) which simply means that he made positive contributions when on the ice.

When looking at all the contributions that make Matthews the dynamic player that he is, the question now becomes whether he is among the top five centres in the NHL?

The NHL Network recently did their ranking of the top 20 centres in the league with Connor McDavid taking the No. 1 spot over Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Fourth on the list was Matthews ahead of Nathan MacKinnon and Anze Kopitar then Mark Scheifele, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and John Tavares rounded out the top 10.

The players Matthews finished ahead are all established players that have won major awards and been in the hart trophy conversation. However, looking at age and impact on the ice, it is hard to ignore what Matthews does when looking at the other centres he’s being compared with.

Now is his place in the rankings impacted by the fact that he plays for the Leafs and since they are a high profile team he gets more attention even in the U.S. At the same time, he has shown the ability to handle the pressure of playing in Toronto which is not easy for a lot of young players.

What helps Matthews case is that Mike Babcock has pushed him to be a solid two-way player for the Leafs and he’s excelled at it for the most part. The only time where Matthews’ play has ever come in doubt has been in the playoffs but there are a lot of factors that come into play.

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There are a lot of parts to his game that has come a long way with the way he is able to knock the puck off players in the defensive zone, of course, his lethal shot which he gets off rather quickly. He improved his playmaking ability last season which made players around him better but many know him primarily as a goal scorer.

He has some work to do when it comes to taking his game to that level in the playoffs which was a tough go for him against Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins. Obviously, Matthews does not have the same experience or supporting cast that Bergeron did which made it a hard series for Matthews to be effective in.

Given how important Matthews is to the team’s success and now with Tavares coming in to help propel the Leafs into a Stanley Cup contender. That should open up Matthews from going up against the top matchups every night which should open him up to be a more dynamic player.

Do you agree with Matthews being a top five centre in the NHL? Can he overtake any of the players ahead of him? Let us know in the comments below.