New Contract for Peterka is Great News For Maple Leafs in Matthew Knies Negotiations

Late Wednesday night, Peterka was traded to the Utah Mammoth and signed a five-year extension worth $7.7M per season.

Earlier Wednesday on TSN's Insider Trading, long-time insider Darren Dreger revealed progress had been made on an extension, with the Leafs hoping to meet their internal deadline to have their pending RFA signed by June 30th.

Peterka, 23, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2028-29 season, but with his new extension, won't become one until the end of the 2029-2030 season, with the Mammoth effectively buying two years of UFA status.

The Leafs can't give Knies a five-year deal as it would walk him directly to free agency in his first year of eligibility in the summer of 2030. However, the AAV of Peterka should be considered fair value for Knies on a four or six-year extension when comparing numbers.

Peterka has skated in 159 games to Knies' 158 but has tallied 55 goals and 118 points compared to Knies who has just 44 goals and 93 points.

Yes, Knies plays a more physical game and has a penalty-kill role, but that shouldn't mark up his AAV by too much given he also plays on the Leafs' top line with Auston Matthews.

Although progress was made Wednesday on his extension, Peterka's extension may make the Leafs rethink their position and could lead to negotiations going well past July 1st, making the 22-year-old Arizona native susceptible to an offer-sheet.