Wayne Gretzky must think very highly of Auston Matthews, jokingly admitting that he was worried about his scoring record after watching Matthews’ four-goal debut.
Speaking with Sportsnet, Gretzky, who scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season with the Edmonton Oilers, said his mind was racing after watching the 2016 number one pick score four times.
“I’m thinking, ‘OK, my (50 goals in 39 games) is in jeopardy, and maybe the 92 (goals in a single season record) is in trouble.’ I had all these thoughts,” he said, jokingly.
Gretzky offered praise towards Matthews saying it’s hard to score in today’s NHL which makes his debut that much more remarkable.
“It’s hard to score in the NHL,” Gretzky added. “And it’s really hard today, with the goaltenders being as good as they are and the players as good as they are. So what he did was remarkable. Good for him. It’s great for Toronto.”
The Great One need not worry about Matthews breaking his scoring record, even if he was joking. While Matthews added his fifth goal of the season, it would be shocking if he even halved Gretzky’s unbeatable number. Heck, even Teemu Selanne’s rookie record of 76 goals is unbeatable.
That doesn’t take away anything from Matthews. He’s an exceptional talent who’s shown an impressive ability to score early in his NHL career. With Gretzky taking notice, Matthews should know he’s doing something right.
[theScore]
