Will Auston Matthews retire as the greatest American born player?

[Suntouchable13]

You gotta do more in the post season in order to even be in the convo. I think this is too premature to discuss. Regular season achievements are not enough.

 

[ps241]

Will Auston Matthews retire as the greatest American player?

I have no idea on the poll but my god your 45 year old beer league AM avatar is legit “generational” work

 

[txpd]

He might. He is not close to being a threat to that though. He has a lot to do to approach a player like Modano. Further to get to Leetch. Then there is Brett Hull.

 

[orby]

It is simply too early to say.

 

[Voight]

He’s gonna need more accolades to pass players like kane and hull

I’m thinking a Ross, a hart and a Lindsay to go along with a few rockets

or

win a cup or two with Toronto with conn smythe level runs and let the media push him to the top, even if it’s undeserved

realistically I don’t think he does, but he probably falls short of only kane and hull

Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Chris Chelios and Phil Housley existed too

So did Brian Leetch.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Chelios?

Yup him too, Name slipped my mind at the time of posting. He will need a bit more hardware to pass his 3 Norris and 6 time finalist.

only thing chelios is lacking is Playoff success so if Matthews breaks through in the playoffs for a few years then he can provably surpass him, even without a cup

So did Brian Leetch.

Brian leetch had 2 Norris’s, an extra finalist for Norris and a Smythe right? Yea he is probably ahead of Matthews currently as well.

Matthews would need a few more awards then he currently has, but I believe he can surpass leetch by the end of his career

 

[Jumptheshark]

Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Chris Chelios and Phil Housley existed too

Brett Hull was born in Canada. Before he went to uni he played in the BCJHL

 

[Zach716]

Oh yeah? Matthews vs. Kane first 5 seasons:
Matthews:
351 points in 334 games 1.05 ppg with 199 goals.
Kane:
369 points in 399 games 0.92 ppg with 126 goals

Of course the kicker is Kane had a cup by this point in his career, but comments like these two are ridiculous as Matthews is already trending to have a significantly more productive career than Kane while being a generational goal scorer at center, it's just a matter of staying healthy and longevity and eventually winning some hardware which is admittedly easier said than done.

Kane continues to age like fine wine. It wasn’t a slight at Matthews and it’s possible but Kaner only gets better and better as the years go by. He’s also got quite the distance head start on hardware.

The productivity of superstars typically peak around 23 statistically which Kane is an anomaly from.

 

[The Macho King]

Yup him too, Name slipped my mind at the time of posting. He will need a bit more hardware to pass his 3 Norris and 6 time finalist.

only thing chelios is lacking is Playoff success so if Matthews breaks through in the playoffs for a few years then he can provably surpass him, even without a cup

Huh? No Conn Smythe's but three Cups and a lot of tremendous runs where he was a key cog.

 

[koteka]

Hasn’t Zegras already claimed that title?

 

[SoupNazi]

I don't think he does, but it's far too early to say for certain where he's going to end up.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Huh? No Conn Smythe's but three Cups and a lot of tremendous runs where he was a key cog.

True, I moreso meant conn smythe vs just a cup, but he was definitely a big piece.
I still believe Matthews can surpass him, but am leaning towards a conn smythe mixed with regular season success now

 

[Holymakinaw]

You said it yourself so why bury head in sand?

Brett Hull stands by his decision to play internationally for U.S.

It's possible to be a dual citizen. I personally am, I have 2 passports, I can play for my 2 countries.

Of course.

I'm just saying that he's REALLY a Canadian tho, so he shouldn't be on the American list. He's too good for that.

 

[bigbabybuda]

It's very possible that he ends up the best American and Leaf of alltime but it's far to early to tell. He needs to stay a Leaf in order to do that and needs playoff success to be the best American ever. He is tracking well though statistically.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

That's a tall mountain to climb between Hull, Chelios, Leetch, Kane.

My money still goes to Frank Brimsek

2x Vezina
2x Cup
Calder
2x AS-1
6x AS-2
2,3,5 Hart finishes

And all in only 10 seasons because he also spent 2 years fighting in WW2 (ages 28 and 29, so 2 prime years)

 

[KidLine93]

Hes gonna need to be MVP of the league at least once. If he doesn't do that I don't think his goal scoring will jump him past Kanes Art Ross, Hart, Lindsay, Conn Smyth and 3 cups (Kane is known to be clutch which will be a big factor in fans eyes).

He has the talent to do it though and lots of runway left

 

[34]

I would say he will be in the running for it. AM is a Generational player.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

I love your avatar, makes me giggle

I dub thee Chungus.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Modano? Suuurree. Hull (Canadianness aside), fun fact was 23 before even making NHL. Matthews is just now 24. I remember watching Hull in the AHL days in Moncton.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Best ever? Maybe. Greatest? No, unless he wins a Cup.

I hate this logic. This isnt even true in the NBA where one player can dominate.

 

[93LEAFS]

I hope he does, but I wouldn't think it's particularly likely. Catching Hull, Leetch, Kane and Chelios will be insanely difficult.

 

[McFlash97]

Close this thread. This is so dumb.

He is not close to guys like Kane, LaFontaine, Leetch, prime Chelios etc

 

[JAK]

This conversation should not even be had until he wins a cup.

Heck, he hasn't even made it out of the first round yet.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

He could, but probably not. He will almost certainly be one of the best players and possibly the best goal scorer of his generation, though.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Kane has him beat for sure
With his 3 Cups, Conn Smythe, Art Ross, Lindsay, Hart

Can’t say I see Matthews winning the scoring title or league MVP anytime soon.

Even Kane aside, Chelios and Hull would be a tall task for him to beat. Matthews has a chance to go down as the best goalscorer but I don’t see it happening for overall player.