Matthew Knies is still without a contract extension but that could happen soon

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Matthew Knies was given an ‘A’ in Saturday’s pre-season game against the Canadiens and one insider believes it may lead to some big news for the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs iced a very inexperienced roster on Saturday, leaving them few options in terms of an actual leadership group for the game. They ended up giving 21-year-old Matthew Knies an ‘A’ for the evening, and on Monday’s edition of ’32 Thoughts’, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman took that as a sign of significance regarding Knies’ future with the Maple Leafs.
“I’m wondering if they are going to sign him. I think Knies is on the precipice of being a really long-term important piece of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s heading into the last year of his ELC and i think there have been some conversations about it. I don’t know how much or in depth they’ve really talked about it, but there have been some rumours that they have had some conversations. There weren’t a lot of people they could have given it (the ‘A’) to, but they gave it to him and that says a lot about how they see him. You know my rule, if you have a cornerstone player, then you go out and sign them for as long as you can because the price never goes down.”
 

Knies reiterated at the beginning of training camp that he wants to stay in Toronto long-term and with his spot on the top line essentially guaranteed, the Leafs would be wise to lock him up sooner rather than later. The fact that he hasn’t signed an extension already does come as a bit of a surprise given how well he played against the Boston Bruins during the playoffs last season.

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In 80 games with the Leafs last season, the University of Minnesota product tallied 15 goals and 35 points, often finding himself skating with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. While the point total may have been disappointing to some, many forget that most of last season was spent with Knies adjusting to playing a full 80+ game season and playoffs.

Knies will look to build on his impressive playoff performance when the puck drops on the Leafs’ regular season October 9th against the Montreal Canadiens. Hopefully, he’ll have inked his new deal by then, or will do so shortly thereafter.