Why the Maple Leafs Should Build Around Matthew Knies
There’s a lot going on in Toronto right now, but if you strip away the noise, the Maple Leafs have at least one pretty clear young building block staring them in the face: Matthew Knies. And the more you watch him, the more he looks less like a “nice piece for the future” and more like a guy you actually start planning around.
The Maple Leafs’ season was horrible, but Knies wasn't.
The new Maple Leafs management group — with John Chayka and Mats Sundin stepping into big-picture roles — has a messy offseason ahead. Missing the playoffs in 2025-26 changed the mood around the organization, and now there’s all this talk about re-tooling, re-shaping, re-thinking everything. That usually leads to overthinking. And that’s where Knies becomes interesting, because he’s the rare player who probably shouldn’t be overthought.
Knies is big. He’s strong on the puck, and he actually plays like he wants to go to the net, which sounds simple but isn’t always the case in today’s NHL. More importantly, he’s still getting better. A lot of young players come in and level off quickly. Knies hasn’t done that. He’s added layers to his game year by year, and that’s usually the sign of someone you can build a top-six identity around.
In a recent conversation relayed by Luke Fox, Chayka called Knies a “unique player” and pointed directly to his blend of size, skating, and skill. That combination is basically hockey shorthand for “we don’t see this very often.” And in a league where teams are constantly chasing power forwards who can actually skate, Knies checks boxes that usually don’t come in one package.
For some reason, there's been a lot of trade chatter around Knies.
Now, there’s always trade chatter around young players in Toronto — sometimes real, sometimes just noise. Knies’ name has come up in those conversations. But the interesting part is that the current front office doesn’t sound like they’re eager to move him. If anything, the tone feels like the opposite: evaluate everything else first, and keep the guy who actually looks like he fits the long-term timeline.
And that’s the point. The Maple Leafs don’t need more uncertainty right now. They need identity. They need players who can survive playoff hockey, not just regular-season highlight reels. Knies looks like someone who understands that shift in gear.
Knies should be seen as a core player in the Maple Leafs’ future.
If you’re trying to build a new core in Toronto — especially with Auston Matthews’ future not permanently locked in yet — you start by identifying players who are hard to play against, still improving, and already comfortable in big moments. Knies quietly checks all of that.
It doesn’t mean he has to be the guy. But he absolutely looks like a guy you build around.