By Canadian Press

Vaive on Matthews setting Leafs single-season goal record: ‘I hope he gets to 65’

Apr 8, 2022 | 10:55 AM

TORONTO — Rick Vaive knew his record wouldn’t stand forever.

The hometown of the Toronto Maple Leafs player to eventually surpass him was the surprise — at least until recently.

“If someone had told me 20 or 30 years ago a kid from Arizona was going to break it,” Vaive said with a laugh, “I would have gone, ‘Come on, you’ve got to be kidding.'”

That’s exactly what happened four decades after the fact.

Auston Matthews snapped the tie for the most goals in a season in franchise history on Thursday when he scored for the 55th and 56th time in 20200-21– including the overtime decider — in a 4-3 victory against the Dallas Stars.

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The 24-year-old drew level with Vaive’s previous high-water mark of 54 goals, which was set in 1981-82 when he became the first Leaf to bag 50, with a hat trick Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“You’re looking at a generational talent,” Vaive said in a Friday phone interview with The Canadian Press. “I’m happy for him. I really am. 

“It’s better than if some guy came in and had a lucky year and scored 55.”

Vaive knows Matthews would have overtaken him a lot sooner if not for COVID-19.

Toronto’s No. 1 centre and star sniper had 47 goals in 70 games when the pandemic brought an end to the 2019-20 regular season before netting 41 in 52 contests in the league’s shortened 2020-21 campaign to win his first Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy.

Vaive had a feeling his goal record wouldn’t last long a couple of seasons back when he was forwarded a video of Matthews training in the off-season.

“It was about a half an hour long. I watched it and I went, ‘Holy crap. He’s working like crazy,'” said the 62-year-old. “I thought, ‘He’s going to it do pretty soon.’

“I hope he gets to 65. Nobody’s going to break that except for maybe him.”

With 11 games left on Toronto’s schedule, that number certainly isn’t out of the question.

Matthews is currently on pace for 65 goals in his 77-game season — Alex Oveckin was the last NHL player to hit 65 back in 2007-08 — after sitting out three contests with a wrist injury at the start of the schedule and two more via suspension last month.

Over a full 82-game campaign, the No. 1 pick at the 2016 draft would be on pace to crack 70. Dating back to 2020-21, he’s registered 70 goals over his last 82 regular-season games.

Vaive has noticed a heightened level of maturity from Matthews during their recent conversations, especially since a 2019 incident in Arizona involving a female security guard led to a disorderly conduct complaint against the player that was eventually dismissed.

“That really kick-started things,” Vaive said. “I think he was a little embarrassed. 

“But he came out of it stronger and worked extremely hard to become a better player and a better person.”

Apart from being the first Leaf to reach 50 goals and holding the franchise mark for a season for 40 years, Vaive is the only Toronto player to reach a half-century more than once after scoring 51 in 1982-83 and 52 in 1983-84.

Gary Leeman, with 51 in 1989-90, and Dave Andreychuk, with 53 in 1993-94, are the only other Leafs to hit 50.

But for Vaive, Matthews is in a whole other class — in any era — when combining his speed, strength and shot. The only goal-scorer that comes to mind is Mike Bossy, who continues to battle lung cancer.

“He reeled off nine 50-plus goal seasons in a row in the NHL,” Vaive said of the 65-year-old. “He was exceptional. 

“And Matthews has got more tools than him. It says a lot.”

Vaive has also been impressed by the way Matthews has carried himself through the quest for 50 goals — last week he became the first Leafs player since Andreychuk hit that number 28 years ago — and then the subsequent pursuit of 55.

“He sat on the bench after the 50th, and I think the fans were hoping he would stand up and wave to the crowd,” Vaive said. “He’s really matured a ton. You look at Year 1 to Year 6, the amazement of his 200-foot game and the way he handles himself is just incredible.”

While Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said after Matthews hit 50 that his star attraction has been among the franchise’s greats for some time, Vaive prefers to wait and see what the next chapters hold.

“Will he stay in Toronto in two years when his contract’s over?” Vaive said. “If he does, I think he’ll break every record that there is. 

“And then he’ll probably be known as the best player in Maple Leaf history.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2022.

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Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press