NHL analyst sets the ceiling for Matthew Knies at which Leafs can get maximum return for $46,500,000 contract extension

Matthew Knies signed a six-year $46.5 million contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The forward is expected to take up more responsibility in the top six alongside the likes of Auston Matthews and William Nylander after Mitch Marner's departure.

Knies' role in the Leafs' lineup so far has been an extra hand to the Core Four, which also included John Tavares. With Marner signing with the Vegas Golden Knights and Tavares' workload on ice expected to be managed as he gets older, Knies needs to evolve as a player.

As per TSN analyst Frankie Corrado, Matthew Knies needs to increase his production as he gets older. For him, the 22-year-old has to get at least 60 points per campaign to make him worth his annual average value of $7.75 million.

"There has to be more offensive upside for Matthew Knies based on how much they're paying him. That's a little bit of a bet on Matthew Knies going into the future. Now, he was just under 60 points last year at a guy who's making just under $8 million. "You would like to see Matthew Knies be a 60-point player, a 65-point player, and eventually a 70 to 75-point player to make sure that you're getting your money's worth out of him. And the thing is about Matthew Knies, he's young. "He's 22 years old, so he had a great season last year, scored 29 goals. He's going to get even stronger. He's going to fill out even more." [Timestamp: 1:31 onwards]

In his first full season with the Leafs in 2023-24, the 2021 NHL Draft pick collected 35 points with just 13:41 minutes of average ice time. That significantly increased with Knies scoring 58 points last season with 29 goals and 29 assists with 18:31 minutes on ice.

Mitch Marner contributed 102 points in total last season. The Leafs hope to distribute those points among players like Knies, Nicolas Roy, and Matias Macelli, with the possibility of promoting young forward Easton Cowan to the NHL.

Frankie Corrado highlights importance of Maple Leafs' goaltending duo

While Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have been solid, there were questions raised about the Leafs' goaltender tandem after their exit from the playoffs. Despite their loss to the Florida Panthers, Stolarz had a 21-8-3 record with a .926 save percentage and 2.14 goals against average, and Woll recorded 27-14-1 with a .909 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average.

As per Frankie Corrado, if the Leafs can stay healthy, their goalkeeping tandem will be capable of carrying them through the season.

"So this is a position of strength for Toronto. It's not necessarily the most orthodox situation. We always think of having your workhorse number one guy and then your number two after that, but both these guys can give Toronto quality minutes in the net. "And if they can stay healthy, this is really a nice position for Toronto to be in, in the goaltending situation. So, I think there's good performances up ahead for both of these goaltenders. I have no issue with that. "The big question mark becomes how long can they stay healthy for in a regular season? And can they play at that peak for a long period of time? But they're both very capable goaltenders." [3:01 onwards]

Stolarz and Woll will make a combined $6.1 million this year, which is relatively cheap for a goaltending duo, especially with the salary cap increasing.

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Edited by John Maxwell