SUNRISE, Fla. – As hurried and harried as the past 48 hours in the life of Matthew Knies have been, the newest Toronto Maple Leaf believes he needed this.
This win.
This night.
This debut distraction.
The Leafs’ top prospect, remember, had the option to sign his pro contract around this same time last spring. Instead, he elected to return to the University of Minnesota to mature as player and as a young man, but also because the Golden Gophers were legit.
Maybe, if the talented-rich NCAA squad kept the band together, they could go all the way in 2023. And, by gosh, they almost did it.
Knies & Co. had a 2-0 lead in Saturday’s championship game only to watch Quinnipiac change back and rip out their hearts out in sudden-death overtime.
Even though the Maple Leafs were headed to Florida, host state of the tournament, the 20-year-old power forward felt it important to fly back with his college teammates. Even if it meant hopping another plane south the next night to start his new life.
Shared pain goes down easier than lonely pain.
“It was devastating to be on the flight, but nice that I could say goodbye and wish them the best of luck next season,” Knies said Monday, fresh off a 2-1 overtime win over the Florida Panthers.
“It’s hard to put that behind me. This was a good thing that I needed. Get that joy back in, because obviously it was a devastating loss back in the Frozen Four. It was pretty heartbreaking having to say good-bye to those guys, then show up and be new guy here.”
Or as game-winning goal scorer John Tavares puts it: “Helluva 72 hours for him.”
The new guy showed flashes to justify the hype.
First off, Knies’s 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame fills out an NHL uniform just fine. He carries his head high. He speaks and moves with confidence. He looks the part.
In 13:09 of mostly sheltered minutes (and none in 3-on-3 OT), Knies won some tough board battles against a desperate Panthers squad. He created a couple scoring chances and made smart decisions with the puck.
He also committed a potentially costly mistake during a failed zone exit and got bailed out by a dialled-in Ilya Samsonov, and looked, at times, like a guy who could use a practice with Leafs. He hasn’t had one of those yet.
“I thought the pace didn’t faze him at all. His feet were moving. He made some smart plays with the puck. A couple mistakes out there. But mistakes are good because you can learn through that and adjust your game, which I thought he did. I thought he did a nice job,” coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“Listen, it hasn’t been easy for him in terms of what’s he’s been through. Not just the devastating loss that they had after such a long season, but just the turnaround to get here.
“You can’t just show up and play in the NHL. There’s a lot of hoops to jump through and clear in terms of the medical process that’s normally done in training camp.”
Flying back to Florida from Minnesota after putting pen to paper Sunday evening, Knies briefly met his fellow Leafs this morning and spent the day racing around to clear the necessary tests.
“I just couldn’t take mind off having my debut,” he said.
His family made the journey to watch a dream realized, and Knies’s phone blew up with encouragement from coaches past.
Their advice?
Believe in yourself. Trust your instincts. Don’t be afraid. Don’t shy away. Play your game.
For one offensive-zone draw, Keefe bumped Knies up to the left flank of fellow Arizona product Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s top line, perhaps a sneak peek for next season.
“It’s awesome,” Knies said. “It’s special to share the ice with him. I looked up to him. He was a big influence on my career, so getting to sit next to him, take it all in, take notes, it’s been really fun so far.”
Matthews was impressed how Knies has fit in.
“You can just see his size and his strength out there. He made plays. It’s not easy to jump into an NHL game right away, especially a game like tonight, where they have a lot on the line and came out with a lot of buzz. I thought he looked really good,” Matthews said. “It’s important for him not to put to much pressure on himself.
“We’re obviously trying to do something special here, and we believe he can come in and help us. I think it’s just getting him acclimated right away, and tonight he didn’t look out of place.”
Knies was quick to admit that NHLers are much heavier and faster than the opponents he’s accustomed to, but he’s eager to make the adjustments and to chase this fresh joy.
“To see it live,” Keefe said, “he looked like a guy who was comfortable — despite clearly not being comfortable.”
Fox’s Fast 5
• Because the Maple Leafs created their own salary-cap emergency — they had space Sunday but used it to sign Knies — the NHL deemed them ineligible for an emergency goaltending recall.
Hence, the ATO signing of Owen Sound Attack netminder Nick Chenard, who wore Jett Alexander’s Number 40.
A similar situation played out last month for the Rangers, when their emergency recall was denied because they added Patrick Kane via trade.
There is still hope Joseph Woll will be recalled for Tuesday’s game in Tampa, so as to prevent playoff starter Samsonov from playing both ends of a mostly meaningless back-to-back.
Says Samsonov: “I don’t know what’s going on tomorrow.”
• Erik Gustafsson “tweaked something,” per Keefe, and left warmup with an upper-body injury, prompting Luke Schenn (who didn’t warm up) to fill in at the last minute.
Gustafsson joins the injured Sam Lafferty, Matt Murray, and Calle Järnkrok on the sidelines. All are officially day-to-day.
• Callup Alex Lyon has started the past seven games for the Panthers, going 6-0-1 in the process. He was stellar again Monday, despite the loss. FLA Live is now roaring his surname after big saves.
“He’s made some tough saves look very easy,” coach Paul Maurice said. “Guys love him because of his personality and his work ethic in the off time.”
• Matthews now has five 40-goal seasons (and four in a row), a club record. He’s 25 years old.
Marner, who drew the primary assist on Matthews’ tip-in, needs one point over the next two games to hit 100 for the first time in his career.
• Aaron Ekblad and diehard P’s fan Brooks Koepka have buried the hatchet. The golfer, who is friends with Florida’s Ryan Lomberg, apologized to Ekblad via text, helping smooth the situation over.
“He did what he did, and he apologized, and holding ill will against somebody and holding negativity in your body is never a good thing,” Ekblad told reporters Monday morning.
“I actually bet on him to win the (Masters) tournament but didn’t work out. He came in after a win in Orlando on the LIV Tour, and just felt I had a chance there to make some money.”
