Maple Leafs re-sign Matthew Knies to six-year extension
The Leafs signed Matthew Knies, their emerging 22-year-old power forward, to a six-year contract on Sunday with an annual average value of $7.75 million.
The deal will keep Knies under team control until 2031, buying up his age 23-28 seasons.
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It's a significant, but well-earned, commitment to a player who has quickly established himself as one of the Leafs' best and most important players. Crucially, the Leafs got a deal done before an offer sheet became a possibility on July 1.
Knies made a huge leap this past season, his second in the NHL. He scored 29 goals and 58 points for the Leafs, playing 18:31 a night. He was stapled to Auston Matthews' left wing on the No. 1 line and established himself as a central component of the team's No. 1 power-play unit.
Knies scored five power-play goals and totalled 15 power-play points, and also emerged as a primary penalty killer. Only William Nylander scored more goals in the playoffs (six) than Knies (five).
He is the only player in Leafs history to post at least 29 goals and 180 hits in a single season. The only other players in the NHL to do so last season were Tom Wilson and Brady Tkachuk.
Knies will turn 23 in October.
It's still unclear just how good he can become for the Leafs, whether his ceiling is something like last season or whether he can climb higher still into one of the league's truly elite players.
The Leafs didn't quite get full term on Knies' extension, but six seasons is still plenty.
Knies' deal should become more valuable as the salary cap continues to rise, especially if he blossoms into a star.
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