Could Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews one day break Alex Ovechkin's NHL goals record?

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Matthew Knies had a funny line regarding Alex Ovechkin’s record for most goals in National Hockey League history.

“I can’t even count that high,” the Maple Leafs winger said Monday, referring to Ovechkin’s 895 career goals. “It’s pretty crazy. Pretty astonishing. Maybe we’ll see (broken) down the line. 34 could do it.”

That, of course, would be Leafs captain Auston Matthews.

When he was told that Knies suggested he could eventually become the NHL goals king, Matthews shrugged it off.

“That’s such a long way to go,” Matthews said after the Leafs’ optional practice at the Ford Performance Centre. “I don’t think I should even be in that conversation. This guy just broke the record. I’m so far away from that and I think it shouldn’t really be a focus on myself.

“Rightfully so, it should be on Ovie and what he has been able to accomplish in his career, this record being one of them.”

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There was a time when Ovechkin thought he had no chance at breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals. In 2016, Ovechkin said during an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that it would be “impossible” to break the record.

Much would have to fall nicely into place for Matthews to have a legitimate shot at surpassing the final total that Ovechkin has when he skates off the ice after his final NHL game. For anyone to insist now that whatever number Ovechkin finishes with will be impossible to break would be taking a shortsighted view.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be Matthews, though you figure he would have the best opportunity among active players. That’s provided that Matthews can stay relatively healthy, a crucial factor that has eluded him at times since he broke into the NHL game with a four-goal game in October 2016 in Ottawa. Only in that 2016-17 season has Matthews played in all 82 games.

Let’s be honest, too. If Mitch Marner winds up departing Toronto and signing somewhere else this summer, Matthews’ right-hand man is gone.

Not only is there no forward available on the free-agent market this summer that is in Marner’s class, the Leafs don’t have a similar assist machine on their roster now.

For years, Ovechkin could sleep well at night knowing that Washington Capitals teammate Nicklas Backstrom was going to be there to feed him the puck.

But if Marner stays and signs with the Leafs for the long term? Keep those passes coming.

In the event that Matthews leaves Toronto in free agency when his contract expires in the summer of 2028 (apologies, it has to be at least considered), will he sign with a team that has a player of Marner’s calibre to feed him the puck?

At this point in his NHL career, the goal numbers add up for Matthews.

The 27-year-old is fifth in NHL history in goals per game (among players who have scored a minimum of 200 goals) at 0.64. Ovechkin has scored at a clip of 0.6 goals per game. The NHL leader in the category is Mike Bossy, who scored 0.76 goals per game, followed by Mario Lemieux, Cy Denneny and Babe Dye all at 0.75 per game.

With 398 goals, Matthews is two shy of 400 and he has played in 623 games. Let’s compare one of Matthews’ peers, who often is mentioned in the same sentence. Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers has scored 399 goals in the NHL, one more than Matthews. Draisaitl has played in 790 games, 167 more than Matthews.

If Matthews plays in each of the Leafs’ remaining six games, including on Tuesday night when they start a back-to-back set in Florida against the Panthers, followed by a visit to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, he will be at 629 in his career, or an average of 69.9 through his first nine seasons in the NHL.

If Matthews can keep his goal-scoring pace and keep his health in check to maintain that average of games — and we should leave open the possibility that his goal pace could increase — he would have a chance to pass Ovechkin’s 895 during the 2036-37 season, when he would be 39. As we said, though, we don’t know yet how many goals Ovechkin will have at the end of his career.

Could Leafs coach Craig Berube imagine Ovechkin being caught? Berube was told about Knies saying Matthews could do it.

“(Records) are meant to be broken,” Berube said. “I don’t say there’s somebody better coming … there’s people that are capable of doing it and breaking the record.”

For the time being, Matthews, like most NHL fans, was enthralled in watching Ovechkin break Gretzky’s record on Sunday afternoon against the New York Islanders.

“To be able to witness that, it just felt like everything just went right,” Matthews said. “It was in his spot, on the power play, the celebration. Everything was amazing.

“A guy like Wayne Gretzky and the amount of goals you have to score, the consistency and everything that goes into it … it’s definitely pretty cool to be able to witness that.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun