How Auston Matthews Has Impacted the Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews, this year's first overall selection in the NHL Draft, hasn't missed a beat since moving from the ZSC Lions of National League A in Switzerland to the NHL.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native was projected to be the future for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and through his first 42 games, he's lived up to the hype.
Advanced Stats Snapshot
Matthews has been no stranger to the net, scoring 22 goals and recording 16 assists while playing an average of 17:07 minutes per game, but how has he possessed the puck outside of his offensive capabilities, per Puckalytics?
| Auston Matthews | Value |
|---|---|
| Points | 38 |
| Shots | 148 |
| Individual Corsi | 249 |
| Individual Shot Percentage | 14.86% |
| Goals per 60 Minutes | 1.77 |
| Assists per 60 Minutes | 1.28 |
| First Assists per 60 Minutes | 0.96 |
| Points per 60 Minutes | 3.05 |
| Primary Points per 60 Minutes | 2.73 |
| Shots per 60 Minutes | 11.88 |
| Individual Corsi per 60 Minutes | 19.99 |
Of his 38 points, 34 have been considered primary points, and his 148 shots rank 10th in the NHL. His individual Corsi events sit at 249, nearly 20 per 60 minutes.
Fantasy Value
In October, prior to fantasy hockey season, ESPN projected him to record 25 goals and 31 assists. He's on pace for 41.8 goals over an 82-game season and 30.3 assists.
As a daily fantasy option, Mathews has been consistently putting up points on a nightly basis and is expected to continue this pace. Over the course of this season, his fantasy point totals sit at an average of 16.5 points per game on FanDuel.
He is, at this point, one of the best producing players one could select in the DFS database, totaling over 10 FanDuel points in 22 of his 25 games played over the course of the season since November 19.
The Future
Matthews' value to the rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs is undeniable. He, with he help of Mitchell Marner and William Nylander, have created a new regime of youth and production that is very exciting to watch.
Comparably, by our algorithm, Matthews' season at this point is to that of Bryan Smolinski in 2003, a season in which Smolinski put up a career high total in goals (21) and 26 assists, both values that Matthews has passed, and is expected to surpass in the coming weeks.
In all, Toronto ranks 15th by our metrics and has a 66.76% chance for the playoffs and a 1.68% chance to win the Stanley Cup. Matthews' play is clearly a primary reason why they're projected to finish this season 40.6-29.0-12.4 after going 29-42-11 last year.
