Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies has six-year extension at $7.75 million AAV
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With the loss star right winger Mitch Marner on their first line, the Maple Leafs made sure to shore up the left side in a big way.
On Tuesday, they confirmed bringing back Matthew Knies with a six-year contract extension at $7.75 million US as an AAV. Knies had taken to his Instagram account and posted ‘Six more years Leafs Nation!’ with a picture of him hugging teammate Joseph Woll before the team could officially post the signing after extending the restricted free agent a qualifying offer Monday evening.
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Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies has six-year extension at $7.75 million AAV Back to video
Last month Knies had already dismissed the chances of accepting a rival club’s offer sheet, but no one on Bay Street could feel totally secure until getting his name on a contract. Toronto general manager Brad Treliving could have matched any sheet as opposed to taking draft picks as compensation, though the gradual rise in the NHL salary cap has made offer sheets a little harder for competing teams
Knies is certainly desirable, rising rapidly through Leaf ranks since being picked in the second round of the 2021 draft. With 29 goals and 29 assists last season, he’s accumulated 94 points in 161 career games, with 14 more points in 27 playoff contests.
Just as important, the 22-year-old has become a physical presence who will gladly take the punishment of going into the difficult areas and in particular the heavy traffic in the slot on power plays.
With second-line centre John Tavares signing a club-friendly four-year deal at $4.38 million AAV last week, the team has two major summer contract concerns settled, while losing Marner.
While he received criticism for including too many smallish players in the Leaf system, former general manager Kyle Dubas and his departed scouting director, Wes Clark, deserve credit for unearthing Knies at 57th his draft year. The two players picked immediately before and after Knies have yet to play an NHL game among a few others in that round.
Knies shared Phoenix, Ariz.-area roots with his future centre and captain, Auston Matthews. From the USHL to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the 6-foot-4, 237-pound Knies began turning heads. After 42 points in 40 games with NHL-bound Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota lost the 2023 Frozen Four final to Quinnipiac in overtime.
Right after, Knies terminated his college career for an entry level deal with Toronto and was invited to stay at the home of the veteran Tavares. Knies played the final three games of the ’22-23 regular season and the ensuing playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He assisted on the Tavares goal that clinched Toronto’s first series win since 2004.
In the next round against the Florida Panthers, Knies was concussed by Sam Bennett. His ensuing first full NHL season featured 35 points in 80 games, but he truly flourished full time this past year on a line with Matthews and Marner. It included his first NHL hat trick in a game against Boston, but after playing a key role in getting Toronto past the scrappy Ottawa Senators in this past April’s opening round, Knies had a lower body bone bruise after a reverse hit from Florida’s Niko Mikkola in Game 6.
That he fought through it to play, despite the one-sided Game 7 loss, spoke to his character. Sportsnet Stats lists Knies as one of five players in NHL history age 22 or younger to have 25 goals and 180 hits in a season.
As the Leafs departed for the summer and his contract became a talking point, Knies was adamant he wanted to stay, even as the Leafs were getting savaged by the public and media for a meek exit against the Panthers.
“There is pressure almost everywhere. Being in a Canadian market, I know it is a magnifying glass and you get picked apart a little bit. But people care, people love hockey here.
“I love playing in this city. I think it’s a blastI love to see how much everyone cares and really wants us to win.”
lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
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