Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews is officially a two-time 60-goal scorer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs forward scored his 60th goal of the 2023-24 season on Saturday to help his team take down the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 at KeyBank Center and improve to 42-22-9 on the year.

Matthews is the ninth player in NHL history with multiple 60-goal seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure, Jari Kurri and Steve Yzerman.

Matthews also reached the 60-goal mark during the 2021-22 season when he recorded a career-high 106 points.

With nine regular-season games remaining, Matthews is expected to set a new career-high in goals. If he reaches the 65-goal mark, he would become the first player since Alexander Ovechkin in 2007-08 to accomplish the feat.

The Maple Leafs, which are still in the playoff hunt and sit third in the Atlantic Division, will return to action on Monday against the Florida Panthers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference at 35-17-8 and, thanks to their electric offense, are considered a Stanley Cup contender. To truly emerge from the rest of the pack, however, the team still has upgrades to make on the defensive side of the puck.

The team is 13th in the NHL in terms of goals against per game. The team is allowing 3.15 per outing and while they have the offensive firepower to still win games despite giving up those scores, it will be difficult to continue that clip in the postseason and ultimately get where they want to go.

The team has already addressed its defensive needs once, acquiring Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks, but could still use more depth, particularly on the right side of the line.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast (16:16 mark) that, "They were looking at a lot of right-shot D... I heard Nick Jensen was kind of name that they were looking at."

Jensen has had an up-and-down season for the Washington Capitals to this point but he is a good skater who can contribute on offense but is primarily going to benefit any potential suitor as a shutdown specialist.

He has only eight points this season but is seeing the ice for just over 19 minutes a game.

Acquiring him will not be cheap because, although the Capitals have a wealth of defensemen right now, Jensen has been a top-four guy for the team so dealing him would require a reasonable return.

It is a deal the Maple Leafs must make if they hope to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.

The team has won a single playoff series over the last decade, a staggering stat that is simply unacceptable given the money that has been spent and the talent that takes the ice every night. They need an edge, a toughness on defense that makes it more difficult for teams to find paydirt.

The veteran Jensen gives them that and the fact that he has two years remaining on his contract means whatever the team gives up for him, be it a player, draft pick, or both, will not be for a rental piece.

There are other options available to the team at the trade deadline, including Noah Hanifin, Sean Walker, Luke Schenn, and Matt Dumba, but Jensen fits both from a financial standpoint (cap hit: $4,050,000) and the fact that he can benefit offensively if need be and would likely see an opportunity for his production increase on a team with the offensive output of the Leafs.

He is not an explosive, headlines-grabbing name but Jensen has the potential to be a sneaky-good pickup for general manager Brad Treliving and one the team can benefit from as they chase their first NHL title since 1967.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their top defensemen for the next several games.

Maple Leafs veteran Morgan Rielly received a five-game suspension for cross-checking Senators forward Ridly Greig in the head in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Ottawa.

ESPN's Kevin Weekes first reported the suspension.

With just seconds remaining in Saturday's game between the Maple Leafs and Senators, Greig buried an empty-netter with a slap shot to put Ottawa up 5-3. Rielly appeared to take exception and cross-checked Greig in the head.

Typically with empty-net goals, players just push the puck into the net or fire in a quick wrist shot to not disrespect their opponent. Greig's slap shot was a rare moment, especially with it coming so close to the blue paint.

"I thought it was appropriate," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters of Rielly's response to the goal after the loss.

Keefe added: "I think he's just reacting to a play. Their player has the right to do what he wants in that moment and our players have the right to react. That's the emotions of the game."

Senators head coach Jacques Martin viewed the incident differently.

"He put the puck in the net," Martin told reporters of Greig. "Whether he shoots it or pushes it, [Rielly's reaction], that shouldn't happen.

"That's not a hockey play. That's just frustration or something. It's not part of the game."

Rielly, the longest-tenured Maple Leaf, had never been suspended prior to Tuesday's ruling. He'll now miss two matchups against the St. Louis Blues and games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes.

The 29-year-old will be eligible to return to the lineup on Feb. 22 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Toronto selected Rielly fifth overall in the 2012 draft. He made his debut during the 2013-14 campaign and has appeared in 769 games across his 11-year career.

Through 50 games this season, Rielly has notched seven goals and 36 assists for 43 points.

The Maple Leafs currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 26-16-8 record and will greatly miss Rielly's presence in the lineup as they look to keep up with the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The NHL has officially unveiled the captains and celebrity captains for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, and the list includes some pretty popular names.

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid and brothers Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils will captain the four teams.

Each team has been given a celebrity captain and an assistant captain.

Matthews, who will lead the team wearing blue, was paired with Canada native and avid Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber as his celebrity captain. Toronto defenseman Morgan Reilly will serve as his assistant captain.

MacKinnon's celebrity captain is Canadian singer/songwriter Tate McRae and his assistant captain is Avalanche teammate Cale Makar. His team will be sporting yellow jerseys.

McDavid's team will be wearing white, and his celebrity captain is Canadian actor Will Arnett. His assistant captain is Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl.

Finally, Quinn and Jack Hughes, who will lead the team wearing red, are paired with Canadian singer/songwriter Michael Bublé. The Hughes brothers were not given an assistant captain as they are designated as co-captains.

Each team will also be assigned a coach, which are selected based on the head coach atop each of the league's four divisions—Boston Bruins' Jim Montgomery, New York Rangers' Peter Laviolette, Winnipeg Jets' Rick Bowness and Vancouver's Rick Tocchet.

After splitting up the All-Star Game by division over the last several years, the NHL opted to reinstate the player draft for this year's event. The captains and their celebrity captains will participate in a player draft to select their teams on Feb. 1 before the game kicks off on Feb. 3.

At least one player from each of the NHL's 32 teams was selected for the All-Star Game. A fan vote determined the remaining players selected for the event.

The final 12 players voted into the 2024 NHL All-Star game by fans were announced on Saturday ahead of the game on Feb. 3.

Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar and Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitch Marner were among the 12 players voted into the game by fans. In 37 games this season, Makar has notched nine goals and 39 assists, while Marner has scored 17 goals and picked up 28 assists on the year.

Makar had 1,065,367 fan votes while Marner had 946,154. NHL All-Star weekend is Feb. 1-3 and will take place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

While Makar and Marner were among the top-voted players, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko received the most votes with 1,398,699. Demko has been dominant for the league-leading Canucks, notching a 21-8 record with a save percentage of .916.

Of the skaters selected by fans, Maple Leaf's right wing William Nylander led the way in fan votes with 1,393,578. Nylander has picked up 21 goals and 36 assists this season.

The Canucks had the most players voted into the All-Star game with Demko, Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Brock Boeser all getting the nod. The Male Leafs had three players voted in by fans in Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly getting bids.

While fans had the chance to vote their favorite players into the All-Star game, they will also get the chance to select which All Stars appear in this year's skills challenge.

The Toronto Maples Leafs and superstar right-winger William Nylander have reached an eight-year contract extension worth $11.5 million per season, putting the total value at $92 million.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal will include a full no-movement clause for the entirety of the deal, meaning he couldn't be traded, waived or sent down to the minors without his consent.

Nylander, 27, had a career year in the 2022-23 campaign, setting career highs in both goals (40) and assists (47). He was probably on pace for an even bigger year, but a late-season slump that saw him only post five goals and eight points in his last 16 games—and one he admitted was at least partly due to being distracted over a potential contract extension—slowed his pace.

"I think it was more so thinking if I finish off the season great we could have a contract done by summer," he told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. "I think that was putting a little bit too much pressure (on me)—maybe after some games where maybe the puck didn't go in and then that dragged on."

Still, it was his second straight season with 80 or more points, and the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft is well on pace for another monster year, with 21 goals and 33 assists through just 37 games. His 54 points have him tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with Edmonton Oilers' superstar Connor McDavid.

In Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, the Maple Leafs have one of the game's most dynamic attacking groups and rank seventh in goals scored per game (3.49). That has the team sitting on 47 points and in third place in the Atlantic Division.

The goal is a Stanley Cup this season, which would end a drought dating back to the 1966-67 season. But Nylander now has more than a decade to help the Maple Leafs reclaim their former glory.

"That would be a dream to stay here," he told reporters over the weekend. "I mean, to play for such an organization. And I call Toronto home. So I think that'd be a very special feeling."

The dream has come true.