With Matthews Knies officially joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, his new teammates are intrigued to see what he can do at the NHL level.
With Matthews Knies officially joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, his new teammates are intrigued to see what he can do at the NHL level.
Matthew Knies is the newest member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The team’s second-round pick (53rd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Sunday. The deal carries an average annual value of $925,000.
The contract begins in 2022-23. Because Knies is over 19, he'll immediately burn a year off of his three-year ELC as his contract will not be subject to the typical entry-level slide.
[gallery ids="5220,5221,5222,5213"]
"We look forward to welcoming Matthew to our Club this week and helping him continue down the great development path he has been on with the Gophers," Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in a statement regarding signing Knies.
The 20-year-old's collegiate career ended in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday when his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers fell to the Quinnipiac Badgers 3-2 in overtime of the Frozen Four championship game.
The Maple Leafs have been eager to sign their draft pick. Last year, the Phoenix native elected to return to Minnesota, despite a pitch from the NHL club to join him in the middle of the 2021-22 season.
"He’s been a pretty big prospect here for a few years now so it’ll be fun to see what he’s all about,'' Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews said of Knies.
Knies visited Toronto last summer to take part in the club's summer developmental camp. The club mapped out a plan for Knies to continue in his development.
The work evidently paid off. Knies finished the year with 21 goals and 21 assists in 40 games. He was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, handed out annually to the best player in men's collegiate hockey.
"I’m sure that bodes well for his confidence and stuff once he does get here," Matthews said of Knies. "He’s mature and a big boy and I’m sure he can handle his own. It’s going to be fun to get to know him a little bit better and kind of see him in this atmosphere."
Despite his success at the NCAA level, Knies will jump right into the highest level of professional hockey. The leap from NCAA to NHL is not always the smoothest for most and expectations may have to be tempered, especially how late the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder will be joining the club.
"I think the jump for everyone is a little bit different," said Maple Leafs forward and Harvard University alumnus Alex Kerfoot. "He seems like a mature kid and seems like a really good hockey player, we’ll see how it goes."
Kerfoot made the jump from NCAA to NHL, but had an entire off-season and training camp to get adjusted to the next level.
Maple Leafs forward Zach Aston-Reese finished in a three-way tie for first in NCAA scoring during the 2016-17 season while with Northeastern University. Like Knies, Aston-Reese was also a Hobey Baker Award finalist and admitted to needing time to make the adjustment at the NHL level.
With Aston-Reese's Pittsburgh Penguins loaded with talent as they chased their second consecutive Stanley Cup, he began his pro career at the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Although there was an opportunity to make the jump at the NHL level in 2017-18, Aston-Reese didn't make the cut and it took until February of 2018 for the forward to make his NHL debut.
"The following year was a wake-up call for me," Aston-Reese recalled. "I feel like that summer I worked hard but maybe not as hard as I needed to. After a couple of months in Wilkes, I figured it out."
Knies' has a lot of potential, but expectations for this season will need to be tempered. Given how late Knies is joining the club this season, it's hard to envision he'll have a big impact with the club's playoff plans virtually set.
But if injuries occur, or he can somehow impress in a short period of time, Knies is another body that could be standing by should Toronto go on a deep playoff run.
Roster clarity now with Knies signed
With Knies officially signed, the Maple Leafs will now be able to add an NHL-level backup to their roster. On Sunday, the club was forced to dress University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander, which allowed them to be designated as playing a player short of a full roster in order to unlock extra cap space by way of an emergency exemption.
Before Knies signed, the Leafs sent Wayne Simmonds down to the Marlies and will now be able to call up Joseph Woll on an emergency basis. He will join Ilya Samsonov as Toronto's two healthy NHL goaltenders.
Related
Maple Leafs Backup Goaltender Status 'Up In Air' as Matthews Knies Remains Unsigned
Maple Leafs Uncertain Backup Goaltending Plan for Canadiens and How Matthew Knies Factors In