A whole lot has been made about the value of certain contracts around the NHL. In this hard-cap world, teams need to squeeze every dollar to make sure they can ice a competitive team while also staying financially compliant.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are very familiar faces in this discussion considering the contracts they have and have had on their books, but the tides are turning and now, they might just have one of the best contracts in the entire league.
In a recent article on Sportsnet, Michael Amato combed through the cap sheet of every NHL team and decided to highlight some real, high-value wins. And it just so happens that the Leafs were named.
Matthew Knies was listed as one player who has one of the best -- this could also be considered team-friendly -- contracts in the NHL. The 23-year-old winger has five years left on a deal that carries a $7.75-million AAV.
"After months of hearing his name in trade rumours, Knies appears to be sticking around, and that’s a good outcome for the Toronto Maple Leafs," Amato wrote last week. "Knies has a skill set few possess in the NHL today, given that he can fill the scoresheet with regularity while bringing a major physical element to the game. He’s also still only 23 and has a lot of room to get even better. Just last season, Knies recorded a career-high 66 points while battling an injury all year long on a really bad Maple Leafs team. A healthy Knies in a better situation has off-the-charts potential, and his $7.75 million cap hit is a steal for what he brings to the table."
That's about everything right there.
Matthew Knies is already a bargain for the Maple Leafs
Knies signed his deal looking for financial security while the Leafs were betting on him being at the very least a solid second-line winger that might score 30 goals every once in a while. But that before last season and even if he lowered his goal total from 29 to 23 and only slightly raised his point total from 58 to 66, his contract should easily be considered one of the best in the NHL. Well, now it's being recognized as that, of course.
Thanks to the new financial landscape of the NHL, with a salary cap ceiling that is skyrocketing by several millions of dollars each summer, Knies' $7.75-million AAV is soon going to be an absolute steal even if he remains a 65-point winger who plays a complementary and physical role.
Now, if Knies takes a step forward and is suddenly hovering around that 80-point threshold while being a physical force on the ice, clearing up space for linemates, and doing a bunch of work along the boards? Suddenly, we're talking about a player who should be making upwards of $11 or $12 million per season, but is coming at an extreme discount for at least a few more seasons.
That would be a wild bargain that the Leafs would need to take full advantage of. Whether it's re-signing Auston Matthews to the contract he desires, and the millions that aren't going to Knies is being redirected towards his captain. Or maybe it's being able to land someone like Zach Werenski in free agency because of the discount the 23-year-old winger is coming in at.
The Leafs have always been on the other side of this, with deals to Mitch Marner and Matthews being criticized for how expensive they were. It's always nice to see them come out with more of a team-friendly contract that can provide some good news in the future.
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