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Analyst Says Matthew Knies Deal Could Go as High as $9M AAV
How high could the Matthew Knies contract go with the Toronto Maple Leafs next season? One analyst thinks as high as $9 million per season.
It seems wild to think about Matthew Knies costing the Toronto Maple Leafs $9 million per season on his next contract, but that’s the power of a threat of an offer sheet, suggests Sportsnet analyst Jason Bukala. He joined Matt Marchese and Mike Futa on The FAN Hockey Show to talk about Knies’s next deal and how his offseason salary keeps growing.
“At 22 years old, he (Knies) is a unicorn, for prospects that are coming into the League he is a unicorn, for the Toronto he is an absolute unicorn. And they’ve been searching for this kind of player, forever,” Bukala said.
“I felt like everybody was getting caught up most recently, and we continue to get caught up pre-deadline, in Mitch Marner. And I just don’t see how you can not sign Knies first and then see what’s left over to do the rest of the business.”
Knies has 25 goals and 45 points in 65 games this season. He’s a pending RFA that the Leafs need to invest in, either on a shorter or mid-term extension or long-term. Long-term buys the team years of his unrestricted free agency money, but it also brings in some cost certainty as the salary cap continues to climb. Bukala added. “If I’m in Toronto, I’m trying to get it at eight, I want to get that cost certainly long term.”
Is An Offer Sheet Really a Concern?
Some fans heard Bukala’s number and thought it was outrageously high. One of the arguments the analyst made was that Knies is a legitimate offer sheet candidate and the Maple Leafs will have to consider a reality where teams come to Knies and his agent and make him an offer this high. The idea of an offer sheet is to force the team that currently employs the player to make a tough decision — both based on a lack of cap space and AAV value.
If a team were to come to Knies with an offer of $7 million, the Leafs would match that all day. There would be no point in another team doing so. That’s one of the reasons $9 million might not be out in left field.
The Oilers overlooked how other teams might value Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg and prioritized UFAs like Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. It’s fair to argue that was the wrong decision. Do the Maple Leafs want to risk being put in the same position?
Next: Maple Leafs Facing Same Offer Sheet Issues that Hurt the Oilers?
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