8 Goals, 18 Points — Nylander Says Matthews May Be Better Than His 69-Goal Peak
GOATIFYAuston Matthews has spent the opening weeks of the 2026-27 NHL season making a familiar question feel relevant again: just how high can his scoring ceiling go? Through 11 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs captain has eight goals and 18 points, putting him among the league's early leaders in both categories. The numbers are striking enough. What has really caught his teammates' attention, though, is how he looks between the goals.
William Nylander believes the current version of Matthews might be as good as, or even better than, the one who scored 69 times in 2023-24. Defenseman Darren Raddysh sees the same explosiveness he remembers trying to contain as an opponent. Coach Jim Hiller has a different explanation: the habits were there before the puck started going in. That combination makes this more than an October hot streak, even if talk of another 70-goal pursuit needs perspective.
Matthews' early production is real, but an 11-game sample is not a full-season forecast. The more revealing story is why Toronto's best scorer looks dangerous again after a difficult injury-disrupted year, and whether the team around him can turn individual brilliance into a sustained winning formula.
Eight Goals in 11 Games: The Pace Is Real, but 70 Is Not Automatic
Auston Matthews has eight goals and 18 points through 11 games, a scoring rate of 0.73 goals per game and 1.64 points per game. Across the NHL's current 84-game schedule, those rates would translate to approximately 61 goals and 137 points. That is a useful illustration of his fast start, not a forecast. Reaching 70 would actually require Matthews to improve on this already outstanding early goal rate.
Toronto's recent wins show why the numbers matter. Matthews scored a goal and supplied two assists against San Jose on October 19, then recorded another goal and assist in a 6-2 victory at Columbus. The latter game was his 700th NHL regular-season appearance, and Toronto's four-goal second period also featured key contributions from William Nylander, Easton Cowan and Jack Roslovic.
Toronto's attack was not entirely dependent on its captain in Columbus. Nylander, Cowan and Roslovic provided additional threats, making it harder for opponents to concentrate every defensive matchup on Matthews. A star finisher is more difficult to neutralize when several lines can create quality chances. His production matters, but so does his ability to draw attention away from the rest of the lineup.
The same distinction applies to his own numbers. A handful of goals can come from an unusually high conversion rate, while sustained dominance requires repeated chances, smart positioning and steady possession. Matthews has the finishing skill to capitalize on both kinds of opportunity. For the Leafs, the more durable positive sign is that he keeps getting into the areas from which he can decide games, not merely that the first few shots have gone in.
Nylander and Raddysh See the Player Behind the Numbers
Nylander's assessment carries weight because he has watched Matthews develop from a first-overall pick into the face of the franchise. He played alongside him during the 69-goal campaign in 2023-24 and has also experienced the periods when opponents found ways to slow Toronto's offense. His latest comments suggest the comparison is about more than the number of shots that have already found the net.
Nylander emphasized the way the game appears to be flowing for Matthews: strong skating, sustained work and chances developing naturally rather than being forced. He even suggested the current version might be playing better than during the famous scoring chase. That is a teammate's assessment, not a guarantee of a higher goal total. A scorer can improve his overall play without setting a new personal record.
Raddysh brings another perspective. He faced Matthews as an opponent during the years when the captain was approaching 70 goals. He remembers how difficult it was to defend a player whose feet were moving and whose release could beat a goalie with almost no warning. Now seeing him every day as a teammate, Raddysh describes the familiar version as vintage Auston. The emphasis is on quickness, stick work and the sense that a scoring chance can appear before the defense resets.
Goals can hide as much as they reveal. A forward might score twice on limited opportunities or go scoreless while consistently creating quality looks. Matthews' strongest stretches combine both: he gets into threatening positions and has the finishing ability to convert them. The teammates' descriptions point to that process as well as the results.
The 2023-24 comparison still needs care. Sixty-nine goals represented a complete campaign through hot spells, quiet weeks and changing matchups. Eleven games cannot establish that this season will surpass it. What they can show is that the movement, timing and confidence behind the earlier success are returning.
Hiller's Bigger Test: Make the Habits Outlast the Hot Streak
Hiller has been more interested in consistency than the scoreboard. His account of Matthews' start is that the forward was skating hard and doing the right things from the first days of camp, even before the goals arrived at their current rate. That distinction matters for a team trying to build something sustainable. If the scoring surge is supported by repeatable habits, it is less vulnerable to the inevitable week when shots hit posts or goalies make extraordinary saves.
For a center, those habits include more than shooting. Getting back through the middle, supporting breakouts, winning position before receiving a pass and creating space for linemates all affect the quality of Toronto's possessions. The club does not need Matthews to score every night to benefit from those contributions. It needs him to keep making defensive decisions difficult for opponents, especially when games tighten in the third period.
Toronto entered its October 22 matchup with the Rangers at 5-4-2. Recent wins over San Jose and Columbus showed how much better the offense looks when several players contribute. Special-teams performance has also helped. Those strengths must last beyond one hot week if the club wants to turn its captain's production into consistent victories.
The captain's form is especially valuable while Toronto adapts to a changing lineup. Yet a team can have a brilliant scorer and still struggle if it cannot protect leads or generate secondary chances. Sustained success requires good decisions from everyone, not just Matthews.
Nylander and Raddysh are not simply celebrating eight early goals. They are responding to the way Matthews is skating, reading play and generating danger after a challenging previous season. Hiller sees a player whose work has remained consistent even as the scoring has accelerated. Those perspectives explain why the 2023-24 comparison has resurfaced so quickly.
The numbers still require restraint. An 11-game run cannot promise another 69-goal season, and reaching 70 would demand an even faster pace from here. But Matthews does not need to chase a round number to make this a significant comeback. If he continues to produce chances while Toronto develops a more balanced attack, the Maple Leafs will have something more useful than an October headline: a captain setting the standard for the season ahead.
