Sheldon Keefe on Auston Matthews closing in on the Leafs' franchise record in goals: "It is his rightful place"

"Keefe: I've said it a lot (over the years). The work that he does to score at that level the work he does behind the scenes; the drive he has in the offseason to make adjustments and find different ways to score to stay ahead of the curve and ahead of the checking and defending in the league; learning from other players and find every edge possible, whether it is changing sticks or what have you - it is always about trying to get better."

"It is obviously remarkable. I grew up in this area, and I know the history of the Leafs fairly well. Mats Sundin, in particular, is a guy you watch growing up, and I played against him a little bit. You saw how great a player he was and how great a Leaf he was. It is his rightful place. Auston has certainly earned it. The evidence is there. He works extremely hard and puts in a lot of time."

Auston Matthews stands five goals shy of Mats Sundin's franchise record, achieved through relentless offseason preparation, behind-the-scenes adjustments, equipment tweaks, and learning from others to stay ahead of defenders. Matthews contributes defensively and across the ice in addition to scoring, reflecting sustained hard work and time invested. The New Jersey Devils produced their primary offensive output in the second period against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 21. Since the returns of Jack Hughes and Timo Meier from injury, the Devils have suffered a three-game losing streak despite those players being back in the lineup.

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