John Tavares sends heartfelt public message to Leafs captain Auston Matthews
Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Following Auston Matthews' historic night against the New York Islanders, John Tavares has sent his captain a heartfelt message of congratulations from behind a giant pile of Budweiser beer cans.
It took just 664 career NHL games for Auston Matthews to topple Mats Sundin's longstanding Maple Leafs goals record, scoring his 420th and 421st goals to sit alone as the top goal scorer in Maple Leafs history on Saturday night against the New York Islanders.
The Leafs ended up losing the game in overtime, but it didn't stop the celebrations, as several past and current Leafs have reached out to Matthews to send their congratulations to the current captain and brand new goal scoring king.
Budweiser commemorating Auston Matthews' goal scoring record by celebrating his past and present teammates
Over the weekend, Budweiser sent out unique gift packages to every player who assisted on any of Matthews' goals throughout his career. The gift? Customized Budweiser beer cans with the corresponding assist number on it, from 1 to 421.
Naturally, some players received more Buds than others, as Matthews has played with a variety of linemates and power play unit mates over the years, some lasting a lot longer than others.
Max Domi and Mats Sundin were among the first two players to congratulate Matthews on his amazing milestone, sharing videos with their cans -- the former captain only holding one that said "421" to honour the new captain and official record holder.
John Tavares sends heartfelt congratulations video to Auston Matthews
However, on Monday, John Tavares took to social media to give Matthews the public showing of love and respect he deserves, from behind a large pile of Budweiser cans, a sign of the great chemistry the two have shared, mostly on the power play, since Tavares came over from New York back in 2018.
"Unbelievable to see you become the all-time goal scoring leader, passing a legend like Mats Sundin. It's been unbelievable playing with you for 7-plus years, not just as teammates... but certainly as friends and the friendship that we've built and I truly cherish that."
Tavares also spoke of Matthews' tremendous leadership skills and how much he respects the way he plays the game.
The mutual respect between these players is obvious very high, and Tavares' kind words to his captain show just how close of a bond they share after having played together for so many years.
With the Leafs goal scoring record now officially belonging to Matthews, the focus can now shift to the Maple Leafs buckling down and getting themselves back into the playoff picture.
The team has been surging of late, going 4-0-2 over their last 6 games. Let's hope they can make it 5-0-2 in their last 7 when they take on the Florida Panthers tonight, and hopefully Matthews can continue to add to his impressive goal total for the Leafs.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 6 | 550 ANSWERS John Tavares sends heartfelt public message to Leafs captain Auston Matthews Do you think we'll get a video from Mitch Marner sitting behind his hundreds of Budweiser cans, celebrating Matthews' goal scoring record? | ||
| Yes | 170 | 30.9 % |
| No | 380 | 69.1 % |
| List of polls | ||