Former Leafs Defenseman Reveals Why It Would Be a Mistake To Extend Matthew Knies Right Away
A former Maple Leafs defenseman has come forward to make a very convincing argument as to why the team should delay extending Matthew Knies until after this season.
On Monday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman affirmed his belief that the Toronto Maple Leafs should and could look to lock Matthew Knies up to a lengthy contract extension sooner rather than later.
Naturally, this sparked a great debate online as to what Knies' value actually is after just 83 games of NHL experience. The young winger was able to rack up just 35 points in his rookie season, which certainly didn't blow anyone away, even if it was a nice building block for the former NCAA standout.
What is Knies' actual value? $4M per season? $5M per season? $6M? Higher? Really, it's anyone's guess, and the AAV will also hinge on the term of the deal and how many UFA years the Leafs would be purchasing.
These questions were pondered by TSN's Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo this morning, with Colaiacovo, the former Maple Leaf, suggesting strongly that the Leafs should avoid committing to a contract extension for Knies until they know what his role will be with the team.
The consensus between Korolnek and Colaiacovo seems to be that Knies needs to show the Leafs what he is before the team makes a significant, long-term commitment to the player.
There are two trains of thought on this one. Some believe that the Leafs should take a gamble and overpay Knies now on an 8-year deal so that they're underpaying him later on in his contract. Others agree with Korolnek and Colaiacovo that the player needs to show his true value before he gets a deal that he may not be able to match with his performance. No matter which side of the argument you're on, you can make some interesting, compelling points to state your case.
I'm of the mindset that paying Knies now may save the team from a cap headache later, but I certainly see the other side of the argument.
