When Mats Sundin became the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time leading goal scorer more than 18 years ago, scoring his 390th goal to surpass Darryl Sittler, it felt like a huge number, one that would stand the test of time.

The Leafs simply haven’t been a franchise with many megastars over the years, and it was clear that the post-Sundin years were going to be dark, without much high-end talent or hope on the way.

Expectations became so low that Phil Kessel’s 181-goal outburst in six seasons shortly after that was the new high-water mark for star power, Toronto’s version of a can’t-miss talent who could get fans out of their seats and bring some level of glory and league-wide attention to what became a downtrodden club.

That’s part of what made Auston Matthews’ appearance in 2016 seem so unusual in this market, right from the four goals he pumped past a division rival in his very first game. In the nine and a half years since, he’s scored more than anyone else in the league, 23 ahead of second place (Leon Draisaitl), despite being limited to 59 fewer games.

After Matthews scored twice in Saturday’s overtime road loss to the New York Islanders to surpass Sundin’s franchise record of 420 goals, the Leafs captain has now produced 0.63 goals per game in his 664-game career. That’s the equivalent of a 52-goal season every 82 games, starting from his rookie season, in a league where only a half dozen others have maintained even a 40-goal pace.

There are all kinds of stats like that with Matthews’ career — too many to properly account for in this column. He was the sixth-fastest player to 400 goals, with the five ahead of him all from the high-flying 1980s. He’s one of only nine players to have multiple 60-goal seasons. He’s third in career goals per game, trailing only Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

Adjusted for era, he’s already into the top 65 in career goals, despite playing fewer than half as many games as a lot of those ahead of him. It’s highly plausible he could push into the top 20 in the not-too-distant future, in his early 30s, with plenty of runway beyond that to go after the top of the list.

Matthews has been such a dominant goal scorer for so long that passing Sundin became inevitable years ago. It’s human nature that something that’s been expected to happen for so long doesn’t get celebrated the same way as something more unforeseen would.

It’s also true that the Leafs all-time goals mark was comparably low, given the franchise has been around for 109 years. (By my count, it ranks 17th among the 32 NHL franchises, and that includes a number of teams that were dreamed up in the past 30 years.)

What’s also true is that Matthews passed Sundin at a troubling time for a franchise that’s experienced mostly downs in the 59 years since its last championship. The Leafs have been through nine consecutive playoff heartbreaks in Matthews’ nine seasons, and this season are currently headed to miss the postseason altogether after a tough start to the campaign.