Should we be surprised? With the same old characters for the last nine years, should we have expected the “core four” to be different this year after going up 3-0 in the Battle of Ontario to sweep or close out the Ottawa Senators in five games?
The answer a week ago would have been a definite yes, but Tuesday night's Game 5 of the Battle of Ontario, saw the Senators claw their way back into the series to make it 3-2 and send it back to Ottawa. The playoff demons have awakened once again for this 46.6 million dollar core four.
If you had predicted in the summer of 2018, when John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency, that this core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Tavares had only advanced to the second round of the playoffs once and had a record of 1-13 in series clinchers, you probably never believed in this core, to begin with.
For the core’s last nine times of kicking at the can in the playoffs, they have all faced the same criticism, which is their ability to produce in the playoffs, and history is repeating itself once again.
Brad Treliving and the Leafs Getting Their Money's Worth
Since Game 4, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander have combined for four points and a minus-11 rating; that type of production is costing the Leafs $35.6 million this season, according to PuckPedia.com. What’s costing the Leafs $925,000 is Matthew Knies’ entry-level contract, which is currently good for tying the team lead in goals with three, and having the Leafs' top expected goal mark of 2.9, per MoneyPuck.com.
At just 22 years old, Knies has already exceeded expectations this season with 29 goals and 58 points while establishing himself as one of the league’s best power forwards. Still, there is no way Knies should be creating more dangerous opportunities in this series compared to a three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner in Matthews and a three-time 40-goal scorer in Nylander.
There’s also no way that Knies should have as many goals (3) this series as Matthews, Marner, and Nylander combined.
If you’re Brad Treliving and the Leafs, you should get him signed immediately before he starts entertaining offer sheets on July 1. Knies’s production during the playoffs has been one of the few bright spots in this series for the Leafs, and it’s not like his production comes from scoring garbage goals or from garbage minutes. Just go back to Game 4 when he scored arguably the goal of the series when he beat Linus Ullmark high blocker to tie the game at two.
Along with Knies’s production, he’s been one of the few players on this Leafs team who has shown any heart. From getting into a shoving match with Ottawa’s Ridly Greig in game 2 to sitting down Shane Pinto in Tuesday’s game.
It's Knies' compete level that stands out from his teammates, something we saw aggravate him since game 77 of the regular season when Knies called his team out for being soft against the Florida Panthers. Even after calling out his teammates, Knies was shown getting into a shouting match with Tampa Bay Lightning Defenseman Erik Cernak the next day. It's stuff you'd love to see from Toronto's highest-paid players, but unfortunately, they don't have that "dog in them" like Knies.
Knies has made a massive jump in his development this season, and we’ve seen it translate to the playoffs with Knies’ production and playoff playstyle. It should make the 35.6 million-dollar players look themselves in the mirror.