Sheldon Keefe has words for Auston Matthews

It goes without saying that Toronto Maple Leafs superstar forward Auston Matthews is one of the best, if not the best, pure goal scorers in the National Hockey League today. And he’s been well recognized for his goal scoring exploits, having earned the Rocket Richard Trophy the last two straight seasons. 

Of course, the end of his current contract is within sight. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season, and the Leafs will certainly have their work cut out for them in terms of roster shuffling and bookkeeping if they intend to keep him with the team for the long haul. 

But in the meantime, Leafs fans continue to be treated to his on-ice talents. And last night at Scotiabank Arena against the visiting Winnipeg Jets, Matthews "took over", in the words of head coach Sheldon Keefe.

"I loved how Auston went out and took charge of the game to start the second period," Keefe said. "I thought that was excellent. I thought we were good from there. We were not perfect; that is a good team on the other side that was pushing and not making it easy on us."

"Auston took over."

The Leafs star scored twice on his seven shots over the course of the night, while also blocking several Jets shots in the third period.

“It’s probably the game that’s looked closest to him last year, in terms of him dangerous, in terms of the puck went in the net,” Keefe continued.

“Probably could’ve had four or five tonight.”

The Leafs and Matthews will be back in action tomorrow night when they pay a visit to their Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in downtown Montreal.