Not The Same

With the impending superstorm bearing down on the middle province, I've had more time to settle in, read some articles, and watch some television. I've been catching up on series I missed, but this snowstorm that hit earlier today allowed me to really dig into TSN and Sportsnet programming. While we've always known they're quite Toronto-centric when it comes to their broadcasts thanks to where the two networks are headquartered, the sensationalism that's coming out of that region is almost as bad as the hyperbole used for the snow we're currently getting. Respect the potential, but stay for the reality.

This article is all about sensationalism and hyperbole in sports because it's starting to get ridiculous with its epicenter in Toronto. Like the superstorm's selling features, the hype was more than the real thing despite everyone being blanketed in snow with some areas getting more than others. Toronto is facing the same dilemma right now with all this 50-in-50 talk that's swirling around Auston Matthews, and we need to address this.

Let me preface this by saying that this article isn't about Auston Matthews' achievement whatsoever. Scoring fifty goals in any season is a helluvan accomplishment and should be celebrated. Scoring fifty goals in fifty consecutive games takes it to a new level due to the consistency needed to accomplish that. There may be a tiny bit of luck in there, but make no mistake that Auston Matthews is a bonafide sniper and what he's doing this season is nothing short of remarkable.

Where I struggle with this people who are putting him on the same level the likes of Gretzky, Lemieux, Hull, Bossy, and Richard. Those guys all have legitimately turned the 50-in-50 trick properly; that is, fifthy goals from the start of the season through their teams' first fifty games. This is an important distinction historically because Maurice Richard's 50-in-50 occurred in 1944-45 when NHL teams only played 50 games in a season! Richard set the bar when it came to scoring in his team's first fifty games, and every 50-in-50 race has followed that blueprint since that historic year.

Again, I'm not here to discredit what Matthews did in scoring 50-in-50 midseason because that feat is quite rare as well. Only seven other players before Matthews have done it, but having a longer runway in terms of the length of the season might have meant Richard could have done it as well. Or perhaps a number of other players who were elite goal scorers from ears prior to the expansion in 1967. Matthews' season this year is special, but it's not an official 50-in-50 by definition.

I'm fully aware that people are gonna say, "Teebz, you just hate Toronto," and that's not incorrect. I'm not a Maple Leafs fan by any definition, and I'll celebrate the shortfalls since 1967 as much as any other non-Leafs fan. That being said, I still have to recongize that what Matthews is doing this season is rather remarkable and should be talked about thanks to being a moment we haven't seen since 1995-96 when Mario Lemieux scored 50-in-50, but did so in Pittsburgh's 59th game of the season.

Again, Lemieux had a special season that year, but no one is giving him a 50-in-50 designation at the same level of Maurice's 50-in-50 because it took longer than the team's first fifth games of the season. That falls in line with Cam Neely who scored 50-in-49 games in 1993-94, but hit that mark in Boston's 66th game of the season. What history has shown is that these two men aren't credited with 50-in-50 designations for those seasons despite both turning that trick.

We need to keep perspective on things. Yes, a fifty-goal season is exciting and certainly newsworthy, so have at it media. Matthews is the top goal scorer in the NHL this season, and that should also be celebrated. For those who are making comparisons to other incredible scorers who achieved the rare 50-in-50 feat, the historic context of the feat needs to be preserved because he's not in the same breath as five men who accomplished the traditional 50-in-50 feat. Matthews' 50-in-50 is simply a footnote in an incredible season of goal scoring for him.

Auston Matthews will win the Maurice Richard Trophy this season for his ability to put pucks in nets. But he's not quite on Richard's level of scoring through his team's first fifty games of the season. That's an important distinction to make when we're talking about "the GOAT" and being one of "the greatest goal scorers of all-time".
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!