Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Brad Marchand Reacts to Historic Maple Leafs News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ankit Kumar | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 2:27 PM ET

Brad Marchand praised Auston Matthews after Toronto’s 4-1 win over Florida on Tuesday.

Matthews scored again and continued a strong scoring stretch of six goals in his last three games. The goal came days after he became the Maple Leafs’ all-time leading goal scorer. Toronto honored him with a pregame ceremony.

Speaking after the loss, Marchand focused on Matthews’ complete offensive skill set. He said Matthews can score in many different ways.

"I think for him is that he can score in a lot of different ways," Marchand said. "We were actually talking about it last night. It's impressive. He's such a dangerous threat, the way he can shoot the puck, but he's so big and strong, he can take it out of the corners, drive the net with it, wraparounds, tips. He's kind of all around the offensive zone. and he doesn't need much space to get (his shot) off. So it's really impressive."

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) acknowledges the crowd before the start of a game against the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena.Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The record-breaking moment came Saturday against the New York Islanders. Matthews passed Hall of Famer Mats Sundin with his 421st goal. He reached the mark in far fewer games. Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games, and Matthews needed only 664 games.

Marchand called the achievement impressive, given the history of the franchise.

"Actually, what he's done at a very young age," Marchand said. "I mean, with how old the Maple Leafs franchise is, it's impressive that he's already broken that record and he's still got 10, 15 years left in the league."

Brad Marchand said he & his teammates discussed Auston Matthews breaking the Leafs' goal record last night.

"With how old the Maple Leafs franchise is, it's impressive that he's already broken that record and he's still got 10, 15 years left in the league."
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) January 6, 2026

Matthews now sits at 422 career goals and ranks tenth among active NHL goal scorers. This season, Matthews has 21 goals and 34 points in 36 games. Defenses continue to focus heavily on him. Still, he creates chances and drives offense, and his two-way play has also improved.

The Toronto Maple Leafs sit at 20-15-7 and fifth in the Atlantic Division. The offense remains productive, but defensive lapses still appear at times. However, for now, Toronto stays in the playoff race.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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