Talk to anyone who watched Elias Salomonsson in the AHL this season and a common sentiment emerges. The Jets prospect didn’t look like a 20-year-old.
Assembling a deep NHL roster takes hard work and patience. The process of tearing down a roster and rebuilding the group through the draft, trades and free agency takes time.
The Toronto Maple Leafs 2025 playoff roster took several years to take shape. Their core group – Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Auston Matthews and John Tavares – provided a foundation the organization hoped would contend for a championship. But it hasn’t worked and the time has come to pivot in a different direction.
The Leafs haven’t lost in the playoffs because they’ve lacked skill players. They’ve lost because they haven’t found the correct combination of “skill and will”. Their defeat this year against the defending champion Florida Panthers further emphasized that the Leafs require more players who are willing and able to adjust to the way the game is played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The good news is that we learned in this year’s defeat that Toronto does have an emerging homegrown talent who embodies exactly the kind of player required to win games at the hardest time of the year.
Matthew Knies has made a strong case why he should be part of whatever the Leafs’ new core will be from here.
Power Forward Identity
It’s early in his career, but Knies is proving to be a rare breed in NHL circles. He’s a power forward who can be deployed in all situations. He contributes offence at even strength and on the man advantage. And he applies his physical will on opponents to open up space for himself and his linemates.
Knies took a big step in his second NHL season, scoring 29 goals and 58 points in 78 games. He averaged 18:30 of ice time per game, took 152 shots and delivered 181 hits. It’s worth noting that only three other players in the NHL scored more than 25 goals and dished out more than 180 hits this season — Tom Wilson (33/233), Brady Tkachuk (29/228) and Vincent Trocheck (26/214).
Knies ended up averaging 2.32 hits and 0.74 points per game during the regular season.
What I really appreciate about Knies is that his game doesn’t change much come playoffs. It’s generally more difficult to score in the post-season, but he still averaged 0.53 points per game while his physical approach didn’t fall off at all compared to the regular season. Knies averaged 2.38 hits per game versus Ottawa and Florida.
Player Comparables
Knies is just 22 (turning 23 in October) and listed at 6-foot-3, 227 pounds, which makes it difficult to find an exact comparison to match him with.
• Trocheck is 31 and stands 5-foot-11, 188 pounds, while Wilson is also 31, but stands 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. Brady Tkachuk is closer in age (25) and also listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.
• Knies is the only NHL player who scored more than 25 goals, dished out 180 hits and is under the age of 25.
• The next-closest player — and he’s not far off — is New York Rangers forward Will Cuylle who’s 23 years old and also an RFA this summer. Cuylle’s game is trending up as well and, like Knies, he’s a handful to play against. Cuylle averaged 15:04 of ice time and was deployed in all situations this past season. He produced 20G-25A and dished out the fifth-most hits in the league (300). He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds.
The bottom line is there aren’t many players in the NHL who bring the combination of size, skill and physicality that Knies does to the Maple Leafs.
Contract Status
If unsigned by July 1, Knies will be a restricted free agent. His qualifying offer is set at $874,500. It’s going to be interesting to see how things unfold between Knies and Leafs management regarding his extension.
Keeping in mind the salary cap is set to rise significantly, which will obviously drive up the cost of doing business across the league, here’s a look at what some other players signed for after their entry-level deals expired:
• Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens: $7.85M x 8 years. Expires 2031.
• Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens: $7.6M x 8 years. Expires 2033.
• Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild: $7.0M x 8 years. Expires 2030.
• Matt Coronato, Calgary Flames: $6.5M x 7 years. Expires 2032.
• Quinton Byfield, LA Kings: $6.25M x 5 years. Expires 2029.