The Flyers locked up Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5-million contract and it goes to show you how lucky Toronto got with locking down Matthew Knies long-term.
Philadelphia certainly has had a pretty eventful offseason to say the least. While they struck out on adding Leo Carlsson on a gigantic offer sheet, they did add Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit while also adding some veteran help with Zach Aston-Reese and Noel Acciari, but their biggest splash happened on Wednesday.
The Flyers announced they had come to an agreement with restricted free agent forward Trevor Zegras on a four-year deal worth $9.125-million per year. That's a fair increase over his previous $5.75-million AAV but for a player who had 67 points in a bounce back season and is just reaching his prime - it's a huge coup especially after losing out on Leo Carlsson.
Trevor Zegras' $9.125-million deal resets the market for young forwards
Now while many believe that Carlsson would reset the market given his $18-million per year AAV, he's certainly the outlier. Philly came in hot with an offer sheet and Anaheim offered it.
Whether he's worth it is another question but it was a tactical ploy to either give the Flyers a young star, or prevent Anaheim from keeping all of them together.
But it's certainly going to be the standard for most 23 to 27-year-old forwards in the league now. We're seeing veterans get fairly large deals so it wouldn't be shocking to see those numbers double or triple when it comes to a younger player.
Paying nearly $10-million per year for a player who isn't yet in their prime and giving you a long competitive window isn't a bad bet, and Zegras has shown that when healthy, he's certainly one of the more dangerous players on the ice.
The Flyers are banking on him improving over last year and with a chance to run the offence alongside Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov and are willing to pay for that potential. It's the state of the modern NHL game nowadays - invest in your future no matter the cost and those salaries are only going to grow year after year.
Matthew Knies' contract now looks like one of Toronto's best-value deals
You know whose salary isn't going to go up anytime soon? Matthew Knies', as the Maple Leafs ended up signing their young power forward to a six-year, $46.5-million deal last summer. That's only a $7.75-million AAV cap hit, which for what you're getting is pretty incredible.
Last year, Knies had 66 points in 79 games for the Maple Leafs (23 goals, 43 assists) while adding 152 hits, and over the last two seasons has been one of only two players in the entire NHL with 50+ goals, 120+ points, and 330+ hits with Tom Wilson being the other - and we know he's a star in Washington.
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While Wilson makes less money, he's also nine years older than Knies and has a ton of experience and one of the most reliable and consistent players over the last decade.
It's actually astounding the deal Toronto got, and it proved to fans that Knies wasn't just someone who was looking to win for the sake of winning. He's as diehard of a fan of the city as the residents are of him; and it's great for the future.
In 27-28, Knies' contract is worth $6.5-million (compared to the 2025-26 hit) and when he reaches the 2030-31 season, the cap is projected to be $137.4-million (per Benchrates) and his hit will only be $5.4-million. It's a contract that appreciates better than most.
Getting a player with 30+ goal potential, great defence, immense physicality who is just settling into his prime, the Maple Leafs are staring at not only one of the best contracts in their organization, but perhaps the entire NHL.
Is Matthew Knies' contract the best deal the Maple Leafs currently have?
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