Matthew Knies should be a lock for the top-six next season

It was a new side to Knies that Leafs fans hadn’t necessarily been exposed to before and it was a side of him his teammates loved to see. Jake McCabe and John Tavares both commented on Knies’ game to Mark Masters of TSN and had this to say during the first-round series:

“He’s been a force to be reckoned with. I always tell him he’s the strongest guy on the ice. He’s 21-years-old & he’s an absolute horse out there” – McCabe
“Has really started to come on here for us” – Tavares

A 21-year-old horse who is only going to get stronger and harder to deal with for opponents. The exchange with Pastrnak was one of the many ‘moments’ Knies had throughout the seven-game series. His biggest one, of course, was his overtime winner in Game 5 in Boston to fend off elimination for the Maple Leafs. It was such a heady play to follow Tavares to the net and take advantage of the Bruins puck-watching and not paying attention to the trailer. It also happened to be a historic goal for the franchise as Knies became the sixth youngest player in franchise history to score an overtime winner:

Knies can really do it all. His combination of size and speed throws off opponents, he doesn’t shy away from contact or mucking it up in the dirty areas of the ice, he can play in all situations and did I mention he’s 21 years old? He has some excellent leadership qualities for his age, and the possibility of him donning a letter one day is certainly not out of the question. His work ethic is perfect for leading by example and he’s shown a lot of character on and off the ice that great leaders possess. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out down the road.

When it comes to next season, Knies should be slotted in on at second-line left-wing and let him enjoy a full season getting top-six minutes and some power-play time. If the Maple Leafs don’t re-sign Tyler Bertuzzi, Knies could find himself getting first-line minutes alongside Auston Matthews and an absolute mystery on the other side at this point. Bertuzzi wants to stick around, and so does Max Domi, but their price tags are going to determine their futures as Maple Leafs. Brad Treliving has $18.5 million in cap space to work with, however, he needs to lock down a goaltending partner for Joseph Woll and look at re-signing Domi and Bertuzzi, but also try to figure out potential extensions with a number of players on their free agent list including Joel Edmundson, Timothy Liljegren, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Connor Dewar.

Knies is going to be a great mentor for youngsters Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan next season who can look to him for advice and how he handled playing in his first full season. He’s primed to make a huge leap next season and use his playoff performance to grow and continue to develop into an impact player for the Maple Leafs. Keefe or not, whoever is coaching behind the bench in Toronto next season, better get ready to give Knies a much bigger role on this team.