Is Matthew Knies "just" another Zach Hyman or Michael Bunting?

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies is off to an amazing start and deserves all the credit in the world, but is he just another Zach Hyman or Michael Bunting, or is he a star on his own?

When it comes to Toronto Maple Leafs top-line left-wingers, they have excelled in the team's system over the years and there's a reason why: Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have been a constant on that line and have continued to make cheap, hard-working wingers beside them better than they are. This is what franchise players do, and the Leafs have two of them, usually playing on the same line, which pretty much automatically makes the third player on that line into a star.

If you're a player who can play behind the net and dig for pucks, you'll be successful on a line with Matthews and Marner.

Is Zach Hyman really a 50-goal scorer or is he just the beneficiary of playing alongside Connor McDavid? As much as I love his work ethic and hands in front, nobody has lucked out more than Hyman when it comes to his linemates. His game works perfectly beside those players, but if he was the main attraction on his own line, he may not even score 20 goals.

Matthew Knies is awesome but you can't afford to pay him long-term

I'm not saying that Knies is a bad player and can't be succesful alone, but I do think his style of game is replaceable by 40 different wingers in the NHL. We all thought the Nick Ritchie experiment would work perfectly because of his size and ability to get in front of the net, but his skating failed beside Matthews and Marner.

The same thing happened with Joe Thornton, as that never worked out because of his speed. Matthews and Marner aren't the fastest players in the world but they play a quick back and forth style that you need some speed and hard work to be successful and that's exactly what Knies brings.

You can't slot in every winger in the NHL and have them score 30 goals beside Matthews and Marner but there are plenty of players that can do the trick that don't cost $5M-plus. Matthew Knies might very well be worth the money, but the Leafs should see how he does on a regular line before committing long-term to him. As long as the Leafs are going to pair the two franchise players, you should be able to find a third guy at the league minimum - paying the third member of that line would just be bad business.

In a best case scenario, the Leafs spread out Marner and Matthews, and Knies proves he's worth the money on his own.

I love Knies and everything that he brings but if you're building the team around Matthews, Marner and Nylander you can't spend a ton of money on the guy whose stats are juiced from playing with two superstars. The Leafs need to know that Knies isn't just another Hyman before they commit.