Following some speculation that Matthew Knies may not be on the Leafs' playoff roster, a veteran NHL scout shares his opinion on Knies

When the Leafs went out and acquired Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari and Sam Lafferty to bolster their forward corps over the past couple of weeks, the primary question on everyone's minds was "what does this mean for Matthew Knies' spot on the roster once he signs his ELC at the end of his NCAA season?"

The Leafs didn't acquire any of these players to sit out and they only moved out one body up front in Pierre Engvall. Obviously, if a team hopes to go on a long playoff run, depth is important, but the biggest concern with bringing Knies in for the team's upcoming playoff run is whether or not he'll play at all. If the answer is either "no" or "we're not sure", the Leafs really should consider signing him to a future contract so as to not burn a year off of his entry-level contract.

One former NHL scout of 16 years, Jason Bukala, chimed in on the Knies situation during an appearance on The JD Bunkis Podcast on SN 590 The FAN. Bukala stated on the record that he felt as though Knies could make an immediate impact for the Leafs. He's just that good.


Bukala is not the only noteworthy hockey personality to have given Knies a vote of confidence. Just a few months back, NHL exec Mike Futa also spoke highly of Knies, saying that he believes Knies gave him some of the best viewings of any NCAA player that he's ever seen. When you're on the radar of so many scouts and executives, chances are you have some skills that stand out. Not only that, but Knies also has the NHL size, speed and shot to succeed at the highest level as well.

Only time will tell if he can come in and make the sort of impact everyone seems to believe that he can. The good news is that we're only about a month away from Knies becoming eligible to sign his ELC and join the Leafs for the final few games of the season.