Toronto Maple Leafs sign Nylander, place Knies on IR
The injury-riddled Toronto Maple Leafs continue to be kicked while they're down with young top-line forward Matthew Knies being placed on injured reserve, forcing the team to sign the brother of star forward William Nylander.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday that they have signed forward Alex Nylander to a one-year NHL contract worth $775,000. The club also announced that they have placed breakout forward Matthew Knies on Injured Reserve (IR) retroactive to November 20th.
Nylander, 26, was drafted eight overall at the 2016 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and is the younger brother to Maple Leafs star William Nylander.
Alex has been playing with the Leafs AHL-affiliate Toronto Marlies this year, scoring eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 14 games played. He was originally signed to a minor league contract, signing as a free agent in July. (hockeydb.com).
Alex Nylander has played for four different NHL teams before the Leafs; The Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue jackets, scoring 25 goals and 49 points through 121 games. Between his time spent in the NHL, he has spent the majority of his career in the AHL, logging 344 games and scoring 102 goals and 120 assists for 222 points. He is expected to make his Maple Leafs debut on Sunday when the team faces the Utah Hockey Club.
Toronto Maple Leafs place Knies on injured reserve
Knies, 22, was drafted by the Leafs in the second round, 57th overall at the 2020 NHL Draft. The promising young forward was in the middle of a breakout sophomore campaign before being injured on November 20th.
Through 20 games this year, Knies has scored eight goals and four assists for 12 points, putting him on pace for over 30 goals and nearly 50 points this year. So far in his young career, he has played 103 games and scored 23 goals and 48 points in the NHL.
Unfortunately, he suffered an injury from a controversial open-ice hit on Wednesday night by Vegas Golden Knights defender Zach Whitecloud. The hit sparked debate and outrage from Leafs fans online due to the lack of disciplinary measures taken with no penalty being called on the play or suspension. This outrage lead the NHL Department of Player Safety to release an explanation video for their reasoning against serving supplementary discipline.
Knies joins a growing list of Leafs players who are spending time on the injury list this season. As of right now; Auston Matthews, Max Domi, David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, Max Pacioretty, and Dakota Mermis are all out with injury as well.
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Ryan Reaves is also out as he is serving a suspension. The Leafs have had to call-up various players already with Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin making their season debut on Wednesday with Nylander being the latest Marlies forward forced to fill-in.