LAS VEGAS – Fresh off scoring 51 goals in 54 games Leafs centre Auston Matthews has announced that he has heard the criticism and will immediately devote his time and effort to developing his secondary assist skills so he can truly earn the 2023-2024 Hart trophy.
“I realize how selfish it is to focus on scoring goals in a game where the winner is decided by which team scores more goals,” said Matthews as he worked on a drill where he passed it to a player and then changed while that player entered the zone, looped around the net and passed to another player who deked a defenceman and then wired it home.
“The fact that no other sport gives a shit about secondary assists tells you how important they are to our game, and not that it’s a silly stat to consider when evaluating players,” he added.
Matthews currently has 12 more goals than the nearest competitor and strong primary assist numbers. But according to experts/Edmonton Oilers fans, that is just proof how one dimensional the game is of the league leader in takeaways, top 5 forward in blocks and Selke level defensive centre.
“Sure in basketball or football you might care about the guy who actually scored,” said Ben Wright. “But this is hockey. And real fans know the hero of every scoring play is the guy who touched the puck third to last.”
Wright added that, even if he does get 70 goals, Matthews still wouldn’t be regular season MVP because he wasn’t very good in the second round of the playoffs last year.
