Maple Leafs May Struggle to Keep Rising Star Matthew Knies This Offseason

Given the circumstances surrounding Mitch Marner and John Tavares, it seems like Matthew Knies has been left on the back-burner when it comes to his next deal. He's going to be a star for years to come and Toronto needs to take advantage of his talent, especially if Marner leaves town.

But they need to get a deal figured out soon, and while all the optics show that it's more than likely he's getting a contract with the team, but if they aren't careful they might lose out on him to a very under-utilized offseason tactic.

Restricted free agency is a fickle beast. As we've seen with Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway earlier this year, there's a huge potential to lose out on a couple of big future pieces.

Edmonton refused to match the offer for either player and they ended up finding a lot of success elsewhere. The same thing can happen to the Maple Leafs if they aren't careful.

Part of a unique group of players with 25+ goals and 150+ hits, Knies is the true definition of a power forward, and his contemporaries on that list show that he's in line for a big deal.

Both Tom Wilson and Matthew Tkachuk ended up signing for $6.5M and $8.22M respectively for their big extensions and both had similar production to Knies at the time of that deal.

A rising salary cap certainly helps things and it won't loom over their heads nearly as bad as it would have if he had been around and signed a few years ago. He very much could end up with a contract more similar to Tkachuk's than Wilson.

With rumors that number could reach upwards of $9M, it's important that Toronto acts aggressively and sets the tone for any team and essentially try and scare them off.

Does $8-8.5M scare off a potential suitor from offering it? Who's to say, and it's not like the cap is just rising for the Maple Leafs.

But it's about time that Toronto makes a move and locks up Matthew Knies. He's been described as a unicorn for his unique ability to bring scoring and physicality at only 22 years old.

Though the mythical creature may not exist in reality, Knies does. The reality is, Toronto has a superstar on their hands and need to keep him around as long as they possibly can.