The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to an okay start in 2026-27. Toronto currently owns a record of 4-4-2 and are taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. For captain Auston Matthews, this is a milestone contest.

Matthews is skating in his 700th career game. So far this season, he has played extremely well. He has seven goals and 16 points through 10 games entering the Blue Jackets clash on Tuesday.

“Forward Auston Matthews is skating in the 700th game of his NHL career. He becomes the 17th player in Toronto Maple Leafs history to play 700 games with the franchise,” the Maple Leafs posted on social media before taking on Columbus.

It's hard to overstate Matthews's importance for this team. He has been a consistently high-producing player for them over the past decade. He is a six-time 40+ goal scorer, has scored 60+ goals twice, and nearly became a 70-goal scorer in 2023-24.

Toronto has not had much in the way of postseason success, though. The Maple Leafs have made the playoffs nine times with Matthews on the roster. Unfortunately, they have only advanced past the first round on one occasion.

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The Maple Leafs missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025-26. They are hoping they can return to the postseason this year. As mentioned, the Toronto captain is doing his part to help the team build momentum early in the season.

The wins have not followed Matthews's production this year. If he can keep this up, though, Toronto will be a tough team to beat throughout the 2026-27 campaign.