Leafs GM Brad Treliving wants Matthew Knies contract done 'as soon as possible'

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Brad Treliving fell back on a common wish on Thursday.

In the case of re-signing Matthew Knies, however, you know the Maple Leafs general manager meant it.

“I say this all the time: I’d like to get it done as soon as possible,” Treliving said, then added jokingly: “Usually, term and money are the only two issues that come into play on contract negotiations.”

That truth aside, no wonder Treliving wants to get Knies’ signature on a new contract sooner rather than later.

The 22-year-old winger took a major step in his National Hockey League career in 2024-25, establishing himself as a true top-line winger with 29 goals and 29 assists in 78 games.

A restricted free agent, Knies made it clear last week he wants to remain with the Leafs when he was asked about the possibility of entertaining an offer sheet from another team.

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If talks haven’t yet become serious between Treliving and Knies’ agent, Matt Federico, they will in short order.

“I thought Matthew had a tremendous year,” Treliving said. “We’re seeing him evolve in front of our eyes. It’s a big step for a young player to become a really important player. He became a really important player.”

Would Treliving prefer a long-term contract with Knies, or is he OK with a bridge deal? A seven-year pact in the range of $7 million to $8 million US a season could make both sides happy.

“We’ll see,” Treliving said. “There are two parties. I think Matthew is just scratching the surface. We have to see what fits for us, what fits for them. I see him as a long-term player here.

“You’d always like to sign them all for as longest and as lowest as you can. He’s a hell of a player and we’re working on it.”

Treliving acknowledged that Knies “muscled through” an injury after being hurt in Game 6 of the second round against the Florida Panthers, but wasn’t specific on what ailed Knies after a hit on Panthers defenceman Niko Mikkola.

In 13 playoff games, Knies had five goals and two assists.

MATTHEWS ‘FOUND A WAY’

At no time, Treliving said, did the Leafs put captain Auston Matthews in a position during the season where his injury might have deteriorated.

Matthews missed nine games in November and six in December/January with an ailment that has not been disclosed. In November, he travelled to Germany to see a specialist.

“He worked through it,” Treliving said. “It’s not a case of us saying ‘Auston, get out there and make it worse.’

“He got time (to recover). When we said (initially) it was day to day, we really believed that.

“When he came back and started playing from times off, it was better. There would be times where it would flare up. He was able to play with it. It wasn’t something we felt that by playing he was going to put himself in a really bad position, short or long term.”

Matthews was hurt in camp last fall. Last week, he said he expects to be 100% when the Leafs return for training camp in September.

In 67 games, Matthews scored 33 goals, 36 fewer than the 69 goals he scored in 81 games in 2023-24.

In 13 playoff games, Matthews scored three goals and recorded eight assists.

Matthews didn’t reveal specifics of his injury and Treliving didn’t betray his captain on Thursday.

“With injuries, I’m not a big believer of just going down the list,” Treliving said. “I do think it’s personal for each guy. We had guys playing through things, as everybody does.

“I give Auston all the credit in the world. I thought he had a really good year in terms of his first year being a captain. We managed (his injury) through the year.

“Did it have an effect at times? It certainly did. But he found a way to be a really important player.”

LIFE OF RIELLY

Morgan Rielly’s lengthy adjustment to playing in coach Craig Berube’s system, naturally, wasn’t lost on Treliving.

“His second half was better than this first half,” Treliving said of the veteran defenceman. “There was a focus more on defensively trying to be harder. And I think he lost a little bit of his (focus).

“You still have to get up and do what you do offensively. I thought that came back more in the second half of the season. After the (trade) deadline, there was a really good chemistry (with Brandon Carlo).

“Like all of us, there is still more there. But I thought he was back to more getting up the ice, getting more involved in the second half than he was in the first half.”

On the Leafs defence corps as a whole, Treliving didn’t close the door on potential changes. That despite the fact the Leafs’ top seven D-men, from Chris Tanev to Philippe Myers, are under contract for the next two seasons.

“In terms of personnel, I like the D, but we can’t be rigid,” Treliving said. “We fell short. We will continue to look at ways we can get better.

“There are some tweaks that we can make. I like the makeup of our defence, but you still have to be able to get up and down the ice. There are things that we can do in terms of closing quicker and taking away space.”

Another area of potential improvement is getting more production from the blue-line group. In the regular season, Leafs defencemen scored an NHL-low 21 goals. The corps had 138 points in total, putting it 25th in the NHL in points by defencemen.

“We need to get more offence from our defence,” Treliving said. “Not just goals, but create. It’s not necessarily turning guys into 20-goal scorers, but we can maybe get more volume going the other way.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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