Matthew Knies' slow start in Columbus is not great for him, but an amazing sight for the Maple Leafs as it justified why trading him was the right call after all.
The day before the Toronto Maple Leafs' season opened up, pulled off a stunning trade that sent Matthew Knies as well as Steven Lorentz and Emil Andrae to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and Miles Wood.
Marchenko has been a revelation in Toronto, meanwhile Lorentz has been a solid piece of Columbus' AHL affiliate. Merzlikins is currently out injured though did recently skate for the first time as a Leaf, meanwhile Andrae and Wood have not gotten a ton of chances.
Matthew Knies' struggles showed Toronto made the right decision
But the one person who could arguably having the worst time of it all is indeed Knies, because after a hot start - he's gone ice cold.
Knies had four points in his first two games with the team, and it looked like Toronto had let go of a superstar on the verge of breaking out.
Except he only has one point since game two, and he only has five points in 13 games total. Compare that to Marchenko who while hurt right now, has 14 points in 14 games and a key reason why the Maple Leafs offense looks (and plays) so much faster.
There was a lot of people who were initially frustrated with Knies' departure, but he just hasn't been the same player as we've seen.
Even in a system that plays to his strengths, Knies is not the force the Blue Jackets need. His physicality also dipped, as he has only 21 hits compared to the 32 he had through 13 games last year - going from averaging 2.5 hits per game to only 1.6.
Knies' issues started long before the Maple Leafs traded him
But it feels like as much as Knies was expected to be a part of things in Toronto, he was the likeliest to leave. It was reported that the team was not too keen on his ability to stay healthy, despite him saying he's 100% not to mention his preseason was abysmal.
He was a minus-2 with only three hits and zero points and while you could blame a lack of preseason games as an issue why he didn't score, he was also incredibly slow and looked a step behind everyone else.
If his knee issues are still causing concerns even enough to affect his regular play, then that was only going to make things harder for Toronto had they kept him. With a chance to get Marchenko and trading away that risk with Knies - it was a deal John Chayka couldn't ignore.
The Maple Leafs kept Knies with every intention of having him be a key part of the future, but a slow start, concerns about health, and an impossibly attractive trade target made him ultimately expendable.
Though from the looks of things right now, Toronto not only made the right decision, but may have already won the trade in year one.
Do you think Matthew Knies would perform better if he was still part of the Maple Leafs?
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