Fans make a very reasonable request of the Maple Leafs regarding Matthew Knies
The fans have spoken: Leafs Nation makes it clear how they want Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs to handle the Matthew Knies situation.
Matthew Knies put together a very successful rookie season, posting 15 goals and reaching 35 points to finish among the top-10 in scoring for all NHL rookies last season. Quite the feat, considering some of the names on last season's list of rookies.
The Leafs are now faced with a very important decision. Should they get out in front of this thing and ink Matthew Knies to a big-money, long-term extension now? Or should they wait out this season to see if there's a bit of a sophomore slump that they can use to their advantage to keep his AAV down and save the negotiations for next summer?
The Leafs Nation decided to put out a feeler to the fans on Saturday and poll the audience to see how they feel on the subject.
To absolutely no one's surprise, the fans have voted overwhelmingly in favour of signing Knies now.
During the Kyle Dubas era in Toronto, the Leafs would very likely have waited this one out. However, under Brad Treliving, there's an opportunity to change the way the Leafs have done things for years.
We saw what happened when the team waited and opted not to sign their core players ahead of time. In the end, following this recipe landed William Nylander an $11.5M AAV rather than the original $10M price tag that he was rumoured to be seeking one year prior.
What does a fair extension look like for Matthew Knies?
Ultimately, the Leafs need to buy up as many UFA years as possible with this kid. The consensus from the fanbase seems to be something in the 6-8 year range, but the AAV seems to vary depending on who you ask. Some say $3.5M per season, but with what we know about these types of deals, paying for potential rather than past performance, $3.5M wouldn't even begin to scratch the surface.
If the Leafs were to offer something closer to $5.5M over 6-to-8-year term, that might be something that would intrigue Knies and his agent.
The most likely outcome, at least in my mind, is that a deal does get done in advance of the season, and if not, I would hope to see something done before Christmas. Waiting for Knies to score 60 points, playing a valuable role within the top-6 will only drive the price up next summer.
If they fail to get it done this summer and Knies comes out and has a big sophomore season, we could very well see his AAV exceed $6M or even $7M per season. A breakout year even more impressive than we expect could lead to the AAV going even higher, which would not sit well with a fanbase who is already frustrated with overpaying.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 28 | 1807 ANSWERS Fans make a very reasonable request of the Maple Leafs regarding Matthew Knies What is the most you'd be willing to pay Matthew Knies on a 6-8 year term? | ||
| $4M or under | 507 | 28.1 % |
| $4.1M-$5M | 767 | 42.4 % |
| $5.1M-$6M | 433 | 24 % |
| $6.1M-$7M+ | 100 | 5.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
