The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action this evening in the Sunshine State against the Florida Panthers, who are scratching and clawing (no pun intended) to earn a postseason berth for the 4th consecutive year; they can do so with a win tonight against the visiting Leafs.
However, the Leafs will be looking to keep that from happening by making it a positive transition to the National Hockey League for top prospect Matthew Knies, who was signed by the team to a three year entry level contract over the weekend.
Knies will be in the lineup tonight for his first taste of action at the NHL level, and according to a report from Maple Leafs Insider, he could be skating on a line with 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winning center Ryan O'Reilly. Take a look at the projected forward line combinations:
Bunting/Matthews/Marner
Kerfoot/Tavares/Nylander
Knies/O'Reilly/Acciari
Aston-Reese/Kampf/Lafferty
The contract Knies signed with the Leafs carries an annual average value of $925,000, and because there are less than nine games remaining in the regular season, his suiting up won't shave off a year of the three year deal.
Knies is a second-round draft pick (57th overall) of the Maple Leafs in the 2021 NHL draft, and he tallied 21 goals along with 21 assists this season playing collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Tonight's game against the Panthers will kick off from FLA Live Arena starting at 7:00 PM EST.
