There will be no “easing in” process for Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher is set to make his NHL debut Monday night vs. the Florida Panthers.
Knies, who signed his 3 year entry level contract with the Leafs on Sunday, spent most of the day Monday completing medical exams and standardized tests required to play at the NHL level. While Toronto would have ideally liked to have gotten the Big 10 player of the year winner a few more practices before seeing live game action, their hand was ultimately forced due to injuries.
“It actually wasn’t the plan initially,” head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters. “Great opportunity for him to get right in. Hasn’t been ideal circumstances for him in terms of his travel and even his day-to-day, medicals and all these things…But ideal circumstances passed us long ago, so here we are.”
Injuries to Sam Lafferty, and Calle Jarnkrok forced the club’s hand as they’ll now turn to Knies to fill the void on a line with Alexander Kerfoot and Noel Acciari.
Under normal circumstances, the Leafs could have recalled an additional forward from the AHL. However the club is so close to the salary cap, that they’ve once again been forced to put together a patchwork roster down the homestretch of the regular season.
The 20 year collegiate star will be one of only 11 healthy forwards available Monday night. Making things even more interesting is the fact that Toronto will once again need to sign amateur netminder Nick Chenard to back up Ilya Samsonov after the NHL denied the franchise cap exemption for a goaltending recall earlier today.
Knies had 42pts (21G, 21A) in 40 games with Minnesota this season, and brings an NHL ready frame to the club. Standing 6’3” and weighing 210lbs, the left winger will be an important addition to the Leafs roster for the postseason. Especially if their recent run of injury woes continue into the playoffs.
With additional injuries to players such as Nicholas Robertson, the Leafs have gone so far as to try out blue liner Erik Gustafsson at right wing on the 4th line. Needless to say, any notion of Knies playing “sheltered” minutes in his debut seems unlikely at this point.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Erik Forsberg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.