Matthew Knies’ tremendous growth as power forward cements his place as key part of Leafs’ future

Matthew Knies took a tremendous leap during the 2024-25 season and is a core member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Knies emerged as a bonafide star power forward with 29 goals and 58 points in 78 regular season games, before adding five goals and seven points in 13 postseason games. The 22-year-old boasts a unique combination of speed, size, power, physicality and a relentless approach on the forecheck, providing the Maple Leafs with a different element to their top-six group.

Knies is the bridge between the team’s win-now present, which will take on a new form entering the 2025-26 campaign, and an uncertain future where he’s the organization best under-25 player by far. As a pending restricted free agent, Knies will be among general manager Brad Treliving’s top priorities — Knies also stated several times on May 20 that he wants to come back. Knies very well could be the future pillar of the organization and could graduate into a future leadership candidate when Auston Matthews and William Nylander fade out of their primes.

How the year went

For the second consecutive year, Knies was stapled to Toronto’s top scoring line alongside Matthews and Mitch Marner. It took about five games for Knies to find his footing, but he went on an offensive tear through October, notching five goals in six games through October 21-October 31, and we witnessed the birth of a breakout campaign. Knies was trying more audacious plays off the rush, including a between-the-legs move that he tried with increased frequency. There was an expectation to produce top-line numbers if he were to get the overwhelming share of the Matthews-Marner minutes and he more than delivered.

“He’s obviously a beast,” Marner said of Knies on October 16, prior to the Maple Leafs’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. “He’s a big fella. I think he’s really done an unbelievable job in that role that he’s been put in. I don’t think it’s easy for a guy to come out of college. He’s got those unbelievable skills to do 1-on-1 things. Obviously, sometimes playing with Auston and I, it’s a lot of times when we want the puck in our hands to try to make plays. He’s done an unreal job of just being around the net, being down low, winning his 1-on-1 battles, getting pucks back for us and getting right back to the net. When he’s needed to, he makes those plays.”

Knies was reaching a new gear but suffered a minor setback on November 20, when he was crushed on an open-ice hit by Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud. He missed 10 days of action and it took until January for Knies to find his form again, aided by Matthews’ return to the lineup. Knies authored the best game of his young career in a three-goal, five-point performance against the Boston Bruins on January 4, perhaps signifying the start of the Core Five designation.

The 22-year-old also was an essential component of Craig Berube’s five-forward power play. Berube emphasized simplicity and getting pucks to the net with direct routes, while preferring two power forwards down low. Knies occupied the net-front role, while John Tavares often crashed down from the bumper and the Maple Leafs’ power play caught fire from February 1, through the duration of regular season.

Knies registered a hat-trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 9, and the prevailing notion that he plays his best hockey against Floridian teams seemed like a good omen entering the playoffs. With the knowing expectation that Knies would be counted on to help the drive the offence, the 22-year-old emerged as arguably the Leafs’ best forward aside from William Nylander, playing with constant toughness, physicality and scoring touch, while working to win pucks back for Matthews and Marner. He displayed his tremendous growth on the penalty kill throughout both series. And when Matthews and Marner were virtually absent for Game 5 and Game 7 against the Florida Panthers, Knies did what he could in vain to help invigorate the team’s leaders, playing through an injury sustained in Game 6.

Toronto’s postseason may have ended in profound disappointment but Knies is arguably the brightest part of the club’s future.

Statistical profile

All stats at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick

Knies’ breakout campaign was one of the most exciting parts of the Leafs’ season, and his underlying numbers suggest there’s still ample room for improvement. The good news: Knies is excellent at getting to the hard areas of the ice, and is a menace to contain at the net-front. He clearly has bought into Berube’s system which emphasizes pucks on net and a direct, north-south approach to entering the offensive zone. And while it seems unsustainable for Knies to convert at an 18 percent clip at 5-on-5 for the 2025-26 season, it does speak to the idea that he’s improving as a shooter and he’s able to pick his spots when getting tot he net.

The bad news: Knies emerged as a steady penalty-killer, but there’s still room for improvement in his defensive games. Knies isn’t necessarily prone to lapses, but there were a few occasions that he was late on closeouts, while the Knies-Matthews-Marner line didn’t dominate opponents at the same rate it had in the past. Knies will naturally improve in all of these areas, as he’s still growing into his prime and now it’s incumbent upon Treliving to find a deal that keeps Knies in Toronto for the rest of his 20s, as a core pillar alongside Matthews and Nylander.

Select highlights

Matthew Knies, between-the-legs backhand goal, Boston Bruins, January 4, 2025