Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews on Just Missing 70-Goal NHL Season: 'Wasn't Meant to Be'

Auston Matthews' quest for 70 goals fell short in Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Toronto Maple Leafs star remained in good spirits.

"I wanted it, for sure, but it just wasn't meant to be," Matthews told reporters. "The most important thing is the team and the team's success, making sure I'm pulling my weight as a leader on this team and help the team win. That's where my focus is at."

Matthews finished the 2023-24 season with an NHL-high 69 goals, 12 more than any other player. He would have been the ninth player in NHL history to top the 70-goal mark and the first since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny pulled off the feat in 1992-93.

"He's played so tremendously well," Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I know there's been a lot of focus on him reaching 70 goals; you kind of lose sight of how well he's played. The way he's played these last two games—give him those types of chances and those types of shots, and he could have had 75. It wasn't meant to be, and that's OK—69 is an unbelievable season."

Despite his goal-scoring prowess, Matthews will almost certainly fall short of winning his second Hart Trophy. Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon is the overwhelming favorite to win that award after finishing with 138 points. Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid will also likely finish ahead of Matthews in the final voting.

Matthews' undoing is his lack of assists, as he finished with just 38 this season. He had been over 40 assists in each of the previous two years.

The Leafs finished the regular season with four straight losses but still made the playoffs with 102 points.