You did it Toronto

 No, I'm not talking about winning the Cup, Lord knows that that would be a bridge too far, in terms of miraculous happenstances. The Leafs have finally produced a player that can be classified as a generational talent. Maybe he hasn't been around long enough for you to give him that level of plaudits, but certainly Auston Matthews is producing otherworldly numbers. 

Matthews scored his 65th goal against the Penguins lthis week, which drew level with Alexander Ovechkin for the post-lockout record that Ovie set in 2007-8. Matthews will own that record by the end o the season, probably by a few goals. It/s been a while since this much attention was deserved in Toronto.

Maybe it's because the Leafs have been such steady participants in the postseason over the last several years, but it doesn't seem like they are getting the notice of the media, at least in my decidedly American perspective. There are some mitigating circumstances, but they don't explain this perceived lack of attention.

Yes, the Leafs play in Canada, and that is the main reason anyone would expect for an athlete to skirt the attention of American media, but for what it's worth, ESPN has been at least better than NBC in covering the Canadian teams as well as those in America. Part of this is that Canadian teams are better now than they were 10 years ago, partially because of players like Matthews. 

And with that coverage, one player that gets the "you need to watch this!" treatment from John Buccigross and company is Connor McDavid, last year's leading goal scorer. McDavid has marks that would seem to make him have even less a profile in America, playing in a smaller Canadian market on team that is not historically as successful, and being Canadian, whereas Matthews is American.

At the beginning of the season, Matthews (or McDavid, for that matter) weren't among the 10 most popular jersey sales over the summer, though last year, Matthews was third behind McDavid and Ovechkin. I suspect a good run in the postseason will elevate Matthews standing as a North American athlete, but I can't explain why his star isn't a little bit brighter.

Not that any of this matters for the product on the ice. Matthews is everything the Leafs thought he would be, and probably even a bit more. Like Crosby in Pittsburgh or Gretzky in his multitude of stops, your team is never really going to be out of it if Auston Matthews is scoring goals for you.