Brad Treliving Can't Afford to Repeat Calgary Mistake With Leafs' Matthew Knies
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving needs to make sure he doesn't repeat history with Matthew Knies, given he already messed up one promising power forward's deal.
With Mitch Marner out the door, attention turns to Matthew Knies and whether he is going to get a shorter bridge deal, or find himself locked up long-term. There are pros and cons to both, and while Knies is no doubt a future star; he does only have two real seasons.
So Brad Treliving needs to be careful not to act desperate and overpay him, but as NHL analyst Craig Button says, he also needs to avoid repeating history.
Brad Treliving can't mess up another Matthew: Craig Button
TSN's hockey analyst joined the Leafs Morning Take podcast on Friday and explained that the similarities between Knies' future and Matthew Tkachuk's Calgary tenure might cause some concern:
Tkachuk only signed his contract, I believe, on the night or two before the regular season started.
He was holding out, and it ended up being a three-year contract. Now, my understanding is all Tkachuk was asking for was the Draisaitl contract. And if you go back and look at where Matthew Tkachuk was at that time compared to where Draisaitl was when he signed that contract.
That would have been a phenomenal contract for Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames. Brad went the short term, he ended up losing Mathew Tkachuk. - Craig Button
He was holding out, and it ended up being a three-year contract. Now, my understanding is all Tkachuk was asking for was the Draisaitl contract. And if you go back and look at where Matthew Tkachuk was at that time compared to where Draisaitl was when he signed that contract.
That would have been a phenomenal contract for Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames. Brad went the short term, he ended up losing Mathew Tkachuk. - Craig Button
He then went on to say that Treliving needs to rectify that past mistake, and the only solution is to make sure Knies is here for the long haul:
So I think with Matthew Knies, that type of player, I mean we use all kinds of descriptors, unicorn, unique, on what he brings to the table. I think if anything, the Matthew Tkachuk situation should be a guideline for Brad Treliving to sign him for eight years. - Craig Button
So is it possible for Treliving to fix his past mistakes, while also getting the team to where they need to be?
How Matthew Knies' deal can affect Toronto's offseason plans
If he is going to be signed long-term, the odds are it'll be an eight-year deal worth about $8 million per season, give or take a few hundred thousand dollars.
That gives him a $64 million contract right up until he's 30. That's a lot of money, but for the type of player that he is; there's really no other option.
Knies, 22, had 58 points in 78 games (29G, 29A) but added 182 hits alongside that; he's more than just your typical big bodied power forward, but something special who is on the cusp of superstardom.
But him signing for that long means that Toronto won't necessarily be able to splurge this free agency, but filling the team with cheaper veterans, role players, and the right fit as opposed to the best players is only going to help the team.
The Core 4 experiment with Mitch Marner failed spectacularly, but if the team plays their cards right; John Tavares notwithstanding, then they can have another Core 4 again, with Knies taking Marner's spot and rightfully so.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 15 | 442 ANSWERS Brad Treliving Can't Afford to Repeat Calgary Mistake With Leafs' Matthew Knies Do you think Brad Treliving will learn from his prior mistakes with Calgary? | ||
| Yes | 333 | 75.3 % |
| No | 109 | 24.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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