Auston Matthews will enter the 2026-27 NHL season with something to prove after a difficult campaign. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain produced 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games before a serious knee injury ended his season in 2025-26.
That recent decline has also affected where analysts rank Matthews among the NHL’s best players. Speaking on TSN OverDrive, Frank Corrado placed Matthews outside his projected top 10 for the upcoming season.
Aaron Korolnek asked Corrado where Matthews would land on the TSN Top 50 list. Corrado gave Matthews a ranking well below the elite group.
“Lock? I think he’s around there,” Corrado said. “I think he’s somewhere in that like 17 to 25 area. That’s where I would see him. He’s not a top 10 player as well. You’re not projecting him to be a top 10 player.”
Matthews’ recent production explains Corrado’s position. The Maple Leafs star scored 69 goals in 2023-24, but his output has dropped sharply over the next two seasons.
Corrado also placed Sidney Crosby ahead of Matthews right now. “Would you have Sidney Crosby ahead of Auston Matthews right now?” Corrado asked before answering, “I think I would.”
The debate becomes more difficult when comparing Matthews with other elite centers. Corrado mentioned Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Aleksander Barkov and Nick Suzuki.
He then added another name ahead of Matthews. “I would have Suzuki ahead of Auston Matthews,” Corrado said.
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Matthews still owns an offensive ceiling that few players can match. Korolnek pointed to that upside while discussing his chances of climbing the rankings.
“Well, you can’t. [He could jump back to that]. He’s got the upside to do that,” Korolnek said about Matthews ranking in the top 10, while adding, “His floor is very high, Crosby, yeah. But I don’t think his ceiling is even remotely close to what Auston Matthews could be.”
Matthews’ recovery adds another factor to the ranking debate. He is expected to return healthy under new head coach Jim Hiller, with the Maple Leafs hoping for a major bounce-back.
A return to 45 or 50 goals would quickly change the conversation. For now, Corrado’s ranking reflects Matthews’ recent results rather than his full career resume.
The 2026-27 season gives Matthews a clear opportunity to prove that his place belongs much higher.
