New Offer Sheet Compensation Could Spell Disaster for the Maple Leafs with Matthew Knies

While the Toronto Maple Leafs' focus is very much on their second round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Florida Panthers, and a warning issued by Matthew Tkachuk to William Nylander ahead of Game 5, an announcement from the NHL could have the team's front office in worry mode.

Sportsnet's top NHL insider, Elliotte Friedman, has released an article revealing new compensation thresholds for NHL offer sheets, and they leave RFAs like Toronto's Matthew Knies even more susceptible to an offer from another team when free agency opens on July 1.

As per Puckpedia, Matthew Knies is in the final year of his entry-level contract that pays him $925,000 per season. After a breakout season where he scored 29 goals and 58 points, as well as 5 goals in 10 playoffs games so far, there is bound to be plenty of interest from other teams in getting him in their lineup.

The new compensation thresholds mean he could be offered north of $9.3 million by an outside organization, and they would only need to give up a first, second, and third round draft pick.

In order to keep Knies, who very much appears to be a star in the making, the Maple Leafs may have to consider letting a player like John Tavares or Mitch Marner walk in free agency, or risk losing Knies to an offer from another team.

Knies, who made sure to hold his team accountable after an ugly Game 4 loss to the Panthers, has said in the past that he's not interested in going the offer sheet route.

However, there comes a point where it would be silly to reject an offer sheet if the money is well over and above what you would get from the Maple Leafs.

Friedman notes that teams considering an offer sheet have to use their own picks, not ones acquired from other teams in a trade.