NHL Star Power Index: Auston Matthews scoring at will, David Pastrnak keeps piling on goals

Cale Makar continues to be among the league's most productive defensemen

By Chris Bengel Jan 25, 2024 at 9:54 am ET• 7 min read

Welcome to the NHL Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing -- it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world's attention.

These players are in no particular order when it comes to the amount of buzz that they're creating. We'll revisit the Star Power Index every week throughout the regular season.

Auston Matthews TOR • C • #34 G39A18+/-+13 View Profile

Auston Matthews produced a career-high 60-goal campaign in 2021-22, and that resulted in the Toronto Maple Leafs star winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP. It's possible that Matthews could even outdo that season considering the rate at which he's scoring goal thus far in 2023-24.

Entering Thursday, Matthews has racked up 39 goals throughout the 2023-24 season. The Maple Leafs star is currently on pace for 71 goals the rest of the way, so there's potential for Matthews to have a career season when the dust settles.