Matthew Knies signs new deal with Maple Leafs.

It's official, Matthew Knies will remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Sunday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman broke the news that Knies and the Maple Leafs had come to terms on a new 6 year deal that comes in at an average annual value and salary cap hit of $7.75 million per season.

This looks like a great deal for the Maple Leafs who get Knies at a very manageable cap hit of just $7.75 million. That looks even better when you consider that Knies is coming off of a career best season at just 22 years old, having recorded 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points in 78 games last season. Knies was also a contributor in the playoffs this year with 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points over 13 playoff games.

For Knies this will represent an enormous increase in salary with the young forward coming off of his entry level contract. Knies had an average annual value and cap hit of just $925,000 over the course of that 3 year deal, but has now played his way into significantly more money.

Knies will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this contract but the Maple Leafs have bought one UFA year in this deal which is a tidy piece of business given that they managed to keep Knies' average annual value relatively low.

Stay tuned for additional details.