Writer comes forward with a reasonable projection for Matthew Knies' sophomore season
Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies is about to enter his second full season in the NHL and is a lock to surpass his point totals from his rookie season.
Knies burst onto the scene at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, sneaking into 3 games for the Leafs after signing his entry-level deal coming out of the NCAA. That year, he produced just 1 assist, but followed that up by tallying a goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 7 playoff games.
Last season, Knies carried over some of that momentum into his rookie campaign, registering 15 goals and 20 assists for a total of 35 points in his first full 82-game experience -- though the Arizona native did miss 2 games due to an illness.
This season, Knies finds himself in the enviable position of being the frontrunner to ride shotgun with Auston Matthews and presumably Mitch Marner on the Leafs' top line. While he likely won't see too much time on the power play, Matthews and Marner being 5v5 production machines bodes well for Knies' potential offensive output in 2024-25.
On Saturday, The Leafs Nation's Alex Hobson released an article projecting 25 goals and 25 assists for a total of 50 points for Knies in his sophomore NHL season. While this is entirely reasonable and even plausible, I'm going to aim a little higher and suggest that a 60-point season is not only possible, but likely.
Matthews is coming off of a career-high 69-goal, 107-point campaign, while Marner is entering a contract year. Add to that the fact that Marner recently spent time training with Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby in Vail, Colorado and we could very well see a career year from Marner as well. If Knies does indeed earn that top line LW spot, which he should, he may put up 60 points sitting in a chair alongside those two dynamic point producers.
Source: Alex Hobson, The Leafs NationWhat does a successful 2024-25 season look like for Matthew Knies?
Source: Hockey DBMatthew Knies stats and bio
| POLL | ||
7 SEPTEMBRE | 253 ANSWERS Writer comes forward with a reasonable projection for Matthew Knies' sophomore season When it comes to Matthew Knies, do you think a 60-point season is attainable? | ||
| 50 is about right | 98 | 38.7 % |
| 60 is doable, for sure | 139 | 54.9 % |
| If he doesn't hit 70, I'll be disappointed | 8 | 3.2 % |
| This could be an 80-point year for him | 8 | 3.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
