Maple Leafs beat reporter projecting pricey new deal for Matthew Knies
Coming into his sophomore season with the Maple Leafs, Matthew Knies is eligible to sign an extension, and Sportsnet's Luke Fox has revealed a reasonable projection for the Arizona-born winger.
Knies arrived on the scene for his rookie campaign in 2023-24 with a real opportunity to make his mark as a legitimate top-6 forward in Toronto. While he did move around the lineup a bit during his rookie season, there's no question that he projects to be an impact player for the Leafs in the long run.
Knies produced 15 goals and 35 points for the Leafs last season and appears to be earmarked for a top-6 role in 2024-25, perhaps playing alongside fellow Arizona product Auston Matthews on the team's top line.
As of July 1st, Knies has been free to negotiate a new deal with the organization. At this point, it's been pretty quiet in terms of news surrounding whether or not the two sides have actively engaged in extension talks, but then again, the Joseph Woll extension news was pretty sudden as well, so we could see a new deal at any point in time.
In terms of what a new deal for Knies might look like, Sportsnet's Luke Fox believes it could be in the 6 years, $5.5M AAV range. This is not a direct report, but rather a projection.
How does six years at $5.5 million sound?
Pretty rich for a guy with 15 career goals. But one of the surest ways for GMs to get value in a cap world is to bet early on their own studs."
The Leafs have paid the price by waiting too long to extend their young talent in the past. They have already gotten out ahead of things in locking up Joseph Woll to a 3-year extension. It's a reasonable suggestion that Knies may be next in line for a new deal, and if that were to occur ahead of his sophomore season, it could be a great way to keep his cap hit more reasonable and get positive value out of his contract over the long haul.
Source: Luke Fox, Sportsnet
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| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 3 | 260 ANSWERS Maple Leafs beat reporter projecting pricey new deal for Matthew Knies Will Matthew Knies record over or under 25 goals in his sophomore season? | ||
| Over | 156 | 60 % |
| Under | 104 | 40 % |
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