Troubling Report on Matthew Knies May Force Maple Leafs to Make a Difficult Decision

The Toronto Maple Leafs head into day two of the NHL Entry Draft having signed a key piece of their organization in John Tavares to a 4-year extension at a massive discount.

While Tavares clearly left some money on the table, as he was rumoured to face a number of offers around the $7M-$8M range on the open market, it does not appear as though Matthew Knies will be following suit and giving the Leafs any sort of a discount on his extension.

According to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli on a recent edition of "DFO Rundown", if the Leafs want 8 years on a Matthew Knies extension, it will cost the team more than $10M per season.

As a result of the lofty ask from the Knies camp on a max-term extension, the deal with the Leafs will likely be in the 5-year range to ensure that the cap hit remains a little more reasonable.

The unfortunate part of a 5-year deal for Knies is that it walks him straight to unrestricted free agency. Earlier reports suggested that Knies could be in line to earn somewhere between $7.5M and $8.5M, similar to deals recently signed by John-Jason
Peterka and Wyatt Johnston if he goes shorter on term.

Leafs GM Brad Treliving is attempting to change the DNA in Toronto, not only in terms of the players on the ice, but also in the way the organization handles contract negotiations.

Hopefully, playing hardball with Knies does not backfire and lead to an offer sheet. The question is, should the Leafs give Knies 8 years and pay a little extra, or give the 22-year-old star 5 years and walk him straight to UFA? The Leafs have a difficult decision to make.