Ex-NHLer Says Matthew Knies About to Cash In with the Maple Leafs, Reveals Huge Potential Offer

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off of a huge win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and are now one step closer to winning the Atlantic Division.

A big reason why the Leafs were able to pick up the overtime win in Tampa was sophomore stud Matthew Knies, who put up a brilliant individual performance against the Lightning in the 4-3 OT victory.

With Knies being eligible for a contract extension since July 1st, the Maple Leafs appear to have dropped the ball and are going to have to pay for it as they watch his potential AAV rise by the day.

There were some who believed that the Leafs could have had a Knies deal done in the $5M-$6M range last summer. Once Knies started the season red-hot, though, one potential comparable for Knies was identifies as Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky ($7.6M AAV). Now, however, NHL on TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette believes that number has risen substantially.

Bissonnette believes that Knies, being the unicorn that he is, and a very productive player, has put himself into the same range as someone like Dallas Stars forward Wyatt Johnson, who just signed a 5-year deal at the deadline worth $8.5M per season. Biz Nasty also said he'd go higher on Knies if need be -- albeit not much higher.

The Arizona-born Knies does not have as many points as his Canadian counterpart, as Johnston is currently sitting at 69 points in his second consecutive 30+ goal season. Meanwhile, Knies is flirting with his first career 30-goal campaign, having scored 29 goals and a career high 55 points across 74 games this season.

Knies does possess a unique blend of speed, skill, size and physicality, and with the salary cap expected to continue to rise rapidly, a $9M price tag on Knies is not outside of the realm of possibility, but it's certainly frustrating to know that the Leafs could have had him for a whole lot less had they had the foresight to get a deal done last summer.