Knies spoke to DailyFaceoff.com's Nick Alberga on the trade speculation around him this summer and more.
Matthew Knies broke his silence on Tuesday. In a 1-on-1 with DailyFaceoff’s Nick Alberga, Knies spoke on a number of topics, including a knee ailment that bothered him for much of last season and addressed his name coming up in a lot of trade speculation surrounding the 23-year-old forward.
Here are 10 takeaways from the discussion.
1. The knee is 100 percent and last year was a grind he couldn’t shake
Knies kept it clinical: tendon issues that “prohibited me from playing the way I wanted to” and from having the strength he needed. He played through it for “three-fourths of the year.”
“It was a nagging injury that you just can’t get rid of without taking some real time off, which isn’t really a thing within our sport outside of summer,” he said. The off-season finally gave him that window. Rehab first, ramp-up later. “It feels 100 percent. It feels good now. It shouldn’t bother me anymore.”
Knies was actually pressed last season about why he didn’t want to shut things down earlier in the season when missing the playoffs seemed inevitable. It seems there was some conflicting views on this.
2. He dropped weight on purpose and likes where the scale is sitting
The knee work came with a body-composition plan. Knies wanted less stress on the joint and a little more quickness. He doesn’t have last camp’s exact number, but he reported walking into this one around 226–227 pounds.
“I know that still sounds heavy, but that’s pretty good for me right now,” he said. “Hopefully I can keep it going a little bit lower… keep my speed up and keep that strength too.”
3. Trade talk was real enough that friends sent him the links
Knies didn’t pretend he never saw it.
“I’m not blind to it. I see it every now and then with my buddies sending it to me.” He also didn’t dwell. “It’s cliche to say, but it’s really out of my control. I didn’t have any say as to what was going on.”
Part of that summer was spent in Europe. Training and the knee came first. The rumours were background noise he tried not to let become the main track.
4. No contractual protection and he knows what that means
This was one of the more honest lines in the sit-down. Knies pointed out he doesn’t have security. In a summer when Toronto changed faces in the locker room, that made a move “a possibility” that sat in the back of his head.
He never let it become the whole conversation. “I’m fortunate that I’m still here and that I’m a part of this group because I love these guys. I’m just happy that I’m still wearing the blue and white.”
Players under the age of unrestricted free agency don’t get no-moves or no-trade clauses in their contract, giving teams leverage over players in situations like Knies’.
5. Gavin McKenna already looks like a difference-maker to him
Knies did not do the polite-rookie hedge. He called McKenna “a hell of a player” and “pretty special talent,” then went further: “I think he’s going to be an all-star in this league.”
The insulation argument is the one Toronto has sold since lottery night. Knies bought it. Veterans and skill around a first-overall pick, he said, is better for McKenna’s development than the usual landing spot for a No. 1. “We’re pretty fortunate… and he’s pretty lucky in that fact.”
6. The Tavares house tour comes with an upgrade, and a warning about mini-sticks
McKenna is living with John Tavares and his family. Knies did that tour already.
Advice: soak it in. “There’s some pretty nice meals to be had there and a lot of mini-sticks. So bring your shin pads.” Then the needle: McKenna got a TV in his room. Knies didn’t.
“They’re making upgrades over there, which is crazy.” He called the stay a crash course in how to be a pro. “Johnny’s probably one of the best to learn from when it comes to that nature of the game.”
Jealous, he admitted. He knows the menu.
7. His Toronto advice to McKenna is simple: be yourself and treat the rest as noise
Alberga asked what he’d tell a high-profile kid walking into this market. Knies didn’t overcomplicate it.
“Just be yourself. I think he’s mature enough to handle it. A lot of it’s kind of just noise. Focus on being a hockey player… trying to get better and help the team win. Everything outside of that is just noise.”
Coming from a former high pick who learned to disappear into the group, that’s the usable line.
8. Bobrovsky on his side still feels surreal especially the poke checks
Full-circle beat: Knies scored his first NHL goal on Sergei Bobrovsky. He said he hadn’t even thought about it until Alberga brought it up.
The relief was more practical. “He poke checks me almost every time I’m on a breakaway with him and it makes me so upset.” Watching Bobrovsky work the last few weeks sold him on why the veteran is still elite. “I’m happy to have him on our side.”
9. First impression of Jim Hiller: personable, early, and going to push
New coach, new noise in the room. Knies said Hiller reached out over the summer, grabbed players quickly, and made it easy to introduce yourself.
“He’s been a very personable guy. Wants to get to know everyone. I think he’s going to be accountable. I think he wants to get the best out of people. I think he wants to challenge everyone, which is a good sign.”
Accountability and challenge that’s the early Hiller scouting report from inside the group.
10. Playoffs are the only team goal he’s selling last year was a “fluke”
Asked what the group is chasing, Knies didn’t reach for a slogan.
“Just make it back in the playoffs. I think that was a fluke of a year. I think we have such a high talent… that was pretty unacceptable by us to not make it into the playoffs. We got to give ourselves the best chance to go chase the Stanley Cup.”
Personally, he stayed away from point totals. Health for 82. Two-way reliability. Special teams. Fill the role the team needs. “Just trying to help the team win as much as possible.”
That’s Knies in September: knee quiet, rumours behind him, and a roster he actually sounds eager to play on.
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