Looks like 50-goals shot over for Matthews

Rick Vaive will likely retain the record for most goals by a Toronto Maple Leaf for another season, but wanted Auston Matthews to have a fair chance at beating him.

That doesn’t appear to be in the cards, thanks to COVID-19 coming ever closer to scrubbing the rest of the NHL regular season, if not playoffs.

Stuck on 47, Matthews needed three goals in Toronto’s final 12 games to join Vaive, Gary Leeman and Dave Andreychuck in the team’s 50- goal club ( Tuesday is the 38th anniversary of Vaive’s first of three). Eight goals in that last dozen games for Matthews would’ve eclipsed Vaive’s franchise mark of 54.

“I feel bad for him to be quite honest,” Vaive said Monday. “Because I know how hard it is to do. Who knows if they’re going to play those postponed games or go right into playoffs? And that’s if they start playing at all.

“I hope to get a hold of Auston later and let him know how I feel. I think he’s a great player, with a great shot and his hockey IQ is off the charts.”

Matthews’s 2-1 game winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning March 10 at Scotiabank Arena might turn out to be the Leafs’ last goal in 2019- 20. He had four in his past six games overall, ready for a charge down the stretch at Vaive, who had 54, 52 and 51 goals in the early ‘ 80s. Leeman had 51 and Andreychuk 53, the last Leaf to break 50 in ‘93-’94.

There were some soft teams on the current schedule that could’ve helped Matthews get to the magic number, but even if the regular schedule is picked up in some form, it could be shortened and everyone’s timing and body mechanics will be affected by a long layoff.

“What makes it even more hard is that this would’ve been a good year for it; he’s 22, I was 22,” Vaive said. “Everything was going his way.”

That was certainly true of Vaive 38 years ago this week, at least from a personal standpoint. While the 1981-82 Leafs won just 20 games and gave up 380 goals, the young right winger from P. E. I., acquired in an initially unpopular trade from Vancouver, was having a great season with centre Bill Derlago.