Maple Leafs Reporter Reveals Huge Asking Price For Matthew Knies' Next Contract In Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a potential star on their hands in Matthew Knies, but now his next contract asking price may be a little too high.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are built ready to win in 2024/25, but that doesn't mean they don't have a future to look forward too, with the likes of Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson, Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten potentially making up the lineup in the years to come. It's Knies that has made the most impact in the NHL thus far however, and with his RFA status at the end of this season, a potential contract extension has been a topic of discussion around Knies this year already.
Now, reporter Nick Kypreos has revealed the potential asking price from the 22-year old, and it's safe to say that his asking price is much higher than anyone expected.
According to Kypreos, if the Maple Leafs want to avoid a bridge contract and give the young forward a long-term deal, it would cost them at least $7.6 million annually over eight years, and while he's shown potential, one season of scoring more than 30 points is just not enough of a sample size to go on. The future is certainly bright for Knies, but The Leafs Nation have predicted his contract would be much more suited to the $5.5-6.5 million range, which appears to be much more palatable for Toronto.
With both Mitch Marner and John Tavares' contracts potentially coming off the books, the Maple Leafs will have plenty of money to spend, so now they seemingly need to weigh up a very expensive extension, or risk losing Knies as an RFA this summer.
