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Toronto Maple Leafs star Matthew Knies is expected to be an in-demand restricted free agent.
The Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division in 2023-24, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They went on to make a very inspiring run in the postseason, as well. In fact, they were one game off the 2024 Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, 2024-25 did not produce the same result.
The Canucks struggled on the ice and dealt with some drama off of it. Vancouver still put in a respectable performance all told. In the end, however, they finished with 90 points, representing a 19-point decline from the 2023-24 campaign.
Vancouver has a ton of work to do this offseason in order to turn things around. And there are a lot of questions to be answered in British Columbia before training camp begins. However, they may also pull off a significant move in NHL Free Agency, especially if they attempt to go for it again in 2025-26.
The Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal compiled a list of 12 restricted free agents the Canucks could offer sheet this summer. This list was not ordered in any way. However, the first name on the list stood out: Toronto Maple Leafs star Matthew Knies.
“The burgeoning 22-year-old power forward exploded for 29 goals and 58 points across 78 games. He then contributed five goals across 13 playoff games, as the Maple Leafs eliminated the Ottawa Senators and pushed the Florida Panthers to seven games in Round 2,” Drance and Dayal wrote of the Maple Leafs star.
“While Knies’ goal scoring and offensive skills are standout, there’s some risk that his production was inflated by a near 20 percent shooting clip. That’s something to be aware of, but for a player like Knies, it doesn’t really rise to the level of a concern.”
Will Canucks Pursue Offer Sheets This Summer?
Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesThe Vancouver Canucks could use a player like Matthew Knies at the top of their lineup.
Offer sheets in the NHL have always been a bit of a polarizing topic. Teams generally don’t pursue restricted free agents in NHL Free Agency. In fact, offer sheets have been so polarizing in the past that one nearly sparked a fight between general managers back in 2007.
However, this does appear to be changing. The St. Louis Blues made waves when they signed defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway to offer sheets last summer. The Edmonton Oilers did not match those deals, and the two emerged as potential cornerstones for the Blues.
This opens up the possibility for the Canucks to explore the restricted free agency market. And it puts teams like the Maple Leafs on edge when it comes to players like Knies. However, there does appear to be some hesitance about pursuing restricted free agents on behalf of the Canucks.
“Perhaps the organization’s thinking on this has changed in the wake of scouting meetings last week, but our understanding has been that the club generally doesn’t view the offer sheet route as the most efficient method of improving this team this summer,” Drance and Haydal noted in their restricted free agent target list.
Of course, a player such as Knies could be an exception. The Maple Leafs star is a legitimate top-six player already. He had a breakout campaign and a solid postseason. He could very well be on the verge of becoming one of the best players in the game. Vancouver could at least explore the potential for an offer sheet.
Matthew Knies Wants to Remain With Maple Leafs
Knies and the Maple Leafs bowed out in the second-round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was a brutal showing for Toronto in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. That sort of devastation is something the team is still processing, even with the Conference Finals well underway.
However, Knies remained rather adamant about his future after Game 7. “I want to be here. I want to play here. That’s all that matters to me,” the Maple Leafs star said, via Sportsnet.
Whether the 22-year-old changes his mind remains to be seen. Toronto certainly wants him back. And he will have no shortage of teams interested in talking this summer, potentially including the Canucks. This is a situation all hockey fans will want to monitor once the offseason begins.
