Atlantic Notes: Knies, Evans, Pinto, Bernard-Docker
While the Maple Leafs have two prominent pending unrestricted free agents in Mitch Marner and John Tavares, they also have a notable pending restricted free agent in winger Matthew Knies. At times, it’s believed the two sides have talked about an extension but the 22-year-old told Daily Faceoff’s Jonny Lazarus that he expects a new deal will be worked out in the offseason. Knies has already passed his rookie-season totals in goals (22) and points (38) and has cemented himself as a fixture in Toronto’s top six. He’s the type of player they’d undoubtedly like to sign to a long-term contract but what happens with Marner and Tavares could ultimately dictate if they can afford to do that or if they’ll have to pursue a short-term bridge deal instead.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Maple Leafs are among the teams with strong interest in Canadiens center Jake Evans, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). Evans is on pace for a career year offensively and has 11 goals and 26 assists through 59 games. He’s also the most-used forward shorthanded in the league while being a little above average at the faceoff dot and it’s his defensive play that will have teams interested in adding him over the coming days. With a $1.7MM cap charge, he’d be easier for Toronto to fit into their current cap structure compared to some of the more prominent but pricier middlemen potentially available.
- Senators center Shane Pinto told reporters including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link) that he will return to the lineup tonight against San Jose. He had missed the last four weeks due to an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has had a bit of an up-and-down season but has still managed to put up 11 goals and 11 assists through 46 games, numbers that are a bit off last year’s pace when he had 27 points in 41 contests.
- Still with the Senators, Garrioch reported earlier this week that the team has made defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker available and they are hoping to add a prospect in return. The 24-year-old has been limited to only 25 games this season between injuries and being scratched while he’s logging just over 13 minutes a night. He’s waiver-eligible and it seems unlikely he’d pass through unclaimed so Ottawa’s intention appears to be to try to flip Bernard-Docker for some sort of tangible value beyond clearing up $805K in cap room. Garrioch suggests that the Predators might be one of the teams interested in the blueliner’s services.
Maple Leafs Activate John Tavares And Matthew Knies, Assign Nikita Grebenkin To AHL
The Maple Leafs will welcome back a pair of key forwards for their game tonight against Edmonton. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News that center John Tavares and winger Matthew Knies will suit up against the Oilers. After sending Jacob Quillan down yesterday, Toronto needed to make one more roster move to add both players to the active roster. Per the NHL’s media site, that move was returning winger Nikita Grebenkin to AHL Toronto.
Tavares missed the last couple of weeks due to a lower-body injury after getting injured in practice when his skate collided with teammate Chris Tanev’s. Despite the short-term setback, it has been a solid season for the 34-year-old pending unrestricted free agent. Tavares has 20 goals and 22 assists through 44 games this season while winning nearly 57% of his faceoffs and will return to anchoring Toronto’s second line.
As for Knies, he only missed a week and a half due to an upper-body injury that he clarified was a shoulder issue. The sophomore has already passed his goal total from a year ago (15) as he has 18 goals and 13 assists through 47 games. Knies has spent a lot of time on the top line which has him well-positioned heading into restricted free agency this summer and is expected to line up on that unit again tonight.
Grebenkin, meanwhile, was recalled last weekend when Connor Dewar landed on IR. However, while he got into seven games with the big club earlier in the season, he didn’t see any game action this time around. The rookie has eight goals and eight assists in 29 games with the Marlies in his first season of action in North America.
Maple Leafs Activate Max Pacioretty, Place Matthew Knies On IR
The Toronto Maple Leafs have activated veteran winger Max Pacioretty off of injured reserve. He has missed the team’s last three games with an upper-body injury. It wasn’t apparent when Pacioretty suffered the injury, which first popped up when he missed practice on January 20th. In a corresponding move, Toronto has also placed winger Matthew Knies on injured reserve with his own upper-body injury. Knies was injured one week ago, after taking a hard hit from Kirill Marchenko in the second period of Toronto’s January 22nd loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Knies’ IR designation can be made retroactive to that game, allowing Toronto to activate him as soon as he’s back to full health. Knies will still be on a ticking clock, though, with just two games left on Toronto’s schedule before they go on a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off.
Losing Knies has been a hard blow the Maple Leafs lineup. The team has lost each of their last two games, getting held to one goal in both outings. Rookie Jacob Quillan received his NHL debut in Knies’ absence on Saturday, but the lineup vacancy will now turn back over to Pacioretty. The 17-year-pro has had a quiet season, marred by injuries, in his first year with the Maple Leafs. He has just five goals and 12 points through 32 games, a far lower scoring pace than he managed even just last year, when Pacioretty netted 23 points in 47 games for the Washington Capitals. Returning from injury will give Pacioretty a chance to snap the eight-game scoring drought he was riding prior to injury. He had six points, split evenly, in nine games prior to that drought – painting a clear picture of a hot-and-cold season.
Even with Pacioretty back, the Leafs will miss Knies for as long as he stays out. The 22-year-old winger is once again showing signs of improvement, with 18 goals and 31 points in 47 games this season. That’s a 54-point scoring pace across 82 games, far better than the 35 points Knies scored in 80 games last year. He’s earned a strong top-six role with that production, averaging nearly 18-and-a-half minutes each game. There’s been no indication of just how much longer Knies may miss, but he’ll be quickly slotted back into the top of Toronto’s lineup as soon as he’s back. Notably, head coach Craig Berube said that he plans to provide goaltender Anthony Stolarz with every chance he can to return before the team’s 4-Nations break. That mindset could also help Knies get back onto the ice before the team returns on February 22nd.
Atlantic Notes: Ekblad, Ullmark, Jensen, Knies
The Panthers will welcome back a key blueliner to their lineup tonight in San Jose. Team reporter Jameson Olive mentions that Aaron Ekblad has been cleared to return from the upper-body injury that has kept him out for seven straight games and eight of the last nine. While the 28-year-old isn’t quite the two-way defender he was earlier in his career, he still leads all Florida rearguards in assists with 18 in 41 games while logging 23:32 per night, a team-high which certainly won’t hurt his case heading into unrestricted free agency this summer. With his return, Tobias Bjornfot is expected to be a healthy scratch. Ekblad remained on the active roster while injured so no roster moves need to be made on Florida’s end to accommodate his return.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- While goaltender Linus Ullmark was a full participant in today’s game day skate, he won’t suit up tonight or tomorrow, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has been out for a little more than a month with a back injury and recently landed on LTIR to allow Ottawa to remain cap-compliant in the short term. Ullmark has a 2.38 GAA and a .915 SV% in 23 games so far this season and his eventual return will certainly be welcomed with the Senators squarely in the battle for playoff positioning.
- Still with the Senators, defenseman Nick Jensen won’t play in either game this weekend, relays TSN 1200 (Twitter link). He suffered an undisclosed injury on Thursday versus Boston, leaving the game late and not returning. Jensen has been a nice addition to Ottawa after coming over in an early July trade from Washington, putting up 18 points in 48 games while logging a career-high 20:49 per game of ice time. There’s no word on how much longer he might miss beyond these next two games.
- Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies briefly skated before practice on Friday with head coach Craig Berube telling reporters including Nick Barden of The Hockey News that Knies is listed as day-to-day. He sustained an upper-body injury on Wednesday against Columbus. The 22-year-old has already set a new career best for goals this season with 18 in 47 games, positioning him well when it comes to contract discussions this summer when he’ll be a restricted free agent.
Leafs Notes: Matthews, Knies, Domi, Kampf
The Toronto Maple Leafs received a string of injury updates at practice today, kicked off by captain Auston Matthews taking the ice for his first team skate since November 3rd. Matthews has missed Toronto’s last eight games with an upper-body injury. He returned to the ice on Saturday, working on individual drills after arriving back from a trip to see a specialist in Germany. But despite the return to full practice, Matthews said he’s uncertain if he’ll play on Wednesday, adding that he may need a couple more practices before he feels ready per TSN Sports. The Leafs begin a two-game road trip to Florida tomorrow that will take them through the end of the week.
It goes without saying that Matthews’ return is hotly anticipated. He has a modest 11 points in 13 games this season, but had a career year in 2023-24 – scoring 69 goals and 107 points. His goal-scoring set a Leafs record and marked the most anyone has scored in one season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. But the Leafs have been doing surprisingly well in his absence, posting a 7-1-0 record and outscoring their opponents 25-to-13. Their 3.125 goals-per-game average on this run is a boost over the 3.0 goals they averaged through their first 13 games. They’ve even improved their goals-per-game average, rising to 3.125 goals over this span after averaging 3.0 in their first 13 games. Matthews is a tremendous talent to add to a hot lineup – and Toronto will hope they can maintain the run through a stretch of tough matchups.
Other updates from today’s Leafs practice:
- Matthew Knies also returned to practice donning a no-contact jersey, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Knies is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury suffered in Toronto’s November 20th matchup against Vegas. Knies will be another notable addition to the top-six when he returns. He’s so far scored eight goals and 12 points in 20 games while averaging roughly 18 minutes of ice time, and served a key role on both special teams units. Knies is playing through his second full NHL season, after scoring 15 goals and 20 points as a rookie last year.
- From great, to good, to bad – center Max Domi won’t join Toronto on their two-game road trip, as he continues to heal from a lower-body injury per Alter of The Hockey News. Domi will mis his third and fourth consecutive games with this news. He’s been on injured reserve since the 20th as well, and head coach Craig Berube didn’t provide an update on when Domi may return. Berube similarly didn’t have an update on David Kampf, shares Alter’s colleague Evan Doerfler. Kampf was placed on long-term injured reserve on November 16th and is expected to miss through mid-December.
Maple Leafs Sign Alexander Nylander, Place Matthew Knies On IR
The Maple Leafs have officially united the Nylanders, announcing the signing of William’s brother, Alexander Nylander, to a one-year contract. The team placed left-winger Matthew Knies on injured reserve retroactive to Wednesday with an upper-body injury in a corresponding transaction to open a spot on the active roster.
Nylander signed for the prorated league-minimum $775K, per the team. It’s a one-way deal, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, so he’ll still be making an NHL salary if he’s placed on waivers later in the year and heads back to the minors.
Now 26, Nylander was a top-10 pick in 2016, going eighth overall to the Sabres two years after the Leafs also drafted William eighth overall. He joined the Maple Leafs organization this summer on a one-year contract with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, but remained a free agent in the NHL’s eyes.
Nylander has been off to a hot start, posting eight goals and four assists for 12 points through his first 14 games. He’s second on the team in goals and is tied with Alex Steeves for the team lead in points.
It’s part of a resurgence for Nylander, who hasn’t been a full-time NHL player since the pre-pandemic days with the Blackhawks. After missing all of the 2020-21 campaign with a left meniscus tear, Nylander was assigned to the AHL to kick off the 2021-22 campaign and had 12 points in 23 games with Rockford before Chicago, who had initially acquired him from Buffalo for Henri Jokiharju, traded him to the Penguins for depth forward Sam Lafferty.
While Nylander got into a few games with Pittsburgh over the following couple of years, he spent most of his time in the minors with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. That changed when the Pens traded him and a sixth-round pick to the Blue Jackets for Emil Bemström in February. He finished last season back in the NHL with Columbus and did quite well, thrust into a top-nine role and scoring 11 goals and 15 points in 23 games while averaging 16:46 per game, a career-high by a wide margin.
He’ll now get another crack at NHL minutes in Toronto, although it may be brief, with the Leafs hit hard by short-term injuries. Knies is the latest regular forward to exit the lineup after being hit hard by Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud on Wednesday. He’d already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Utah, which will likely mark Nylander’s Leafs debut, but is eligible to come off IR for their following game, a mid-week battle against the Panthers.
Calle Järnkrok, Auston Matthews and Max Pacioretty were all already dealing with injuries entering last week, while Max Domi and David Kämpf landed on IR before the Vegas game and Ryan Reaves was suspended five games for a hit against Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse last weekend. Knies becomes the seventh forward ineligible or ruled out for this weekend’s tilt, joining the rash of injuries that has led to AHL regulars like Steeves and prospects like Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten getting the call in the past week or so.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Maple Leafs Notes: Myers, Ekman-Larsson, Knies, Domi
The Maple Leafs announced Friday that they’ve recalled defenseman Philippe Myers from his conditioning loan to AHL Toronto.
No corresponding moves are necessary. Myers remained on the active roster and counted against the salary cap while on his conditioning stint, which could have lasted up to two weeks but ended after six days.
Toronto needs more available healthy players amid a rising tide of injuries. The 6’5″, 220-lb righty didn’t record a point in three games on the farm but managed 4 PIMs and a +2 rating.
Myers has played just once for the Maple Leafs this season after signing a one-way, $775K contract over the summer. He sat in the press box for 17 of 18 games before his brief reassignment. His only appearance came on Oct. 26 against the Bruins, when he recorded a -1 rating and one hit in 12:11 of ice time.
If the Maple Leafs want to send Myers back to the AHL on a longer-term basis, they’ll need to place him on waivers. He’s been exposed to the wire four times in his career, all in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the Predators and Lightning, and cleared each time.
Elsewhere in Leafland:
- Myers’ summons comes with Oliver Ekman-Larsson under the weather. He didn’t practice today due to an illness, the team said. It’s hopefully a non-factor in what’s been a strong start in Toronto for the 33-year-old, who signed a four-year, $14MM contract in free agency last summer. He has a +2 rating and is on pace for 33 points, which would be his highest offensive output since finishing 11th in Norris Trophy voting in 2018-19. He’s also averaging 21:09 per game, his highest usage in three years, and is posting his best relative possession numbers in six years. There’s a chance Myers could draw into the lineup on Sunday against Utah if OEL can’t play, with Toronto expected to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
- The Leafs will be going with the 11F/7D formation because winger Matthew Knies has been ruled out with the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud in Wednesday’s win, head coach Craig Berube told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic. It’s unclear how much time the 22-year-old, who has eight goals and 12 points in 20 games, might miss beyond this weekend’s game.
- Toronto might have 12 healthy forwards on hand if forward Max Domi can come off injured reserve, which Berube told Mark Masters of TSN is a possibility ahead of the Utah game. Domi landed on IR earlier this week and missed the win over Vegas with a lingering lower-body injury, but since the placement was retroactive to his last appearance against the Oilers on Nov. 16, he’d be eligible to come off IR after the one-game absence. Domi, 29, has yet to score in 19 games this season after inking a four-year, $15MM extension last summer.
Atlantic Notes: Paul, Knies, Staios
The Lightning will be without the services of center Nick Paul tonight in Columbus, head coach Jon Cooper told the team’s Gabby Shirley. The 29-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury against the Penguins on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated when the Bolts return home from their road trip tomorrow, Cooper said.
It’s a tough break for Paul, who’s on pace to have the best offensive season of his career by a country mile. The 6’4″ pivot is part of a Lightning top-six that’s roared to life, posting 13 points (5 G, 8 A) in 17 games. That’s a 0.76 point-per-game pace, shattering last year’s 0.56 career high.
Paul had recently moved to the wing, skating on the second line alongside Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. Cam Atkinson could take that job after serving as a healthy scratch for the last three games, assuming the Bolts don’t want to make any other lineup changes, although he has just one assist in 11 games with a team-worst -7 rating.
Paul is now in his fourth season in the Bay after parts of seven years with the Senators. The Ontario native has emerged as a crucial middle-six weapon, posting 105 points in 200 games while averaging north of 16 minutes per game and winning 53.5% of his faceoffs.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies is still being evaluated after being pulled by concussion spotters from last night’s win over the Golden Knights but is “feeling okay today,” head coach Craig Berube told Mark Masters of TSN. Knies left the game in the second period after a hit to the head from Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud, which was initially called a major penalty but was rescinded entirely upon review. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready by Sunday’s game against Utah – if not, the Leafs are at risk of being down a seventh forward due to injury and would likely dress seven defensemen.
- A 3-5-1 rut in November has the Senators below .500 yet again and at considerable risk of extending their playoff drought to eight years. Don’t expect general manager Steve Staios to make a blockbuster move to bail his club out, though, saying Wednesday that “each individual in the room needs to step up” in order to get Ottawa back on the right track (per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch). “For us to figure out as a group why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock,” Staios said. “For most games, the team looks and feels not only like a competitive team but a playoff-looking team. We’ve proven against good teams.“
Snapshots: Knies, Brossoit, Barlow, Gustafsson
While the Maple Leafs have been working on (and might be nearing) an extension with pending UFA defenseman Jake McCabe, meaningful talks haven’t started with another one of their 2025 free agents. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports in their latest Insider Trading segment that there hasn’t been any meaningful dialogue regarding a new deal for winger Matthew Knies, who will be a restricted free agent next summer. The 21-year-old had a solid rookie season in 2023-24, collecting 15 goals and 20 assists in 80 games and appears to be one of their younger building blocks up front. That said, it wouldn’t be surprising if at least one of the two sides has indicated that they’d rather wait to see how things go this season to get a better sense of his value before kickstarting talks later on.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- While the Blackhawks won’t have their newest goaltender available for the start of the season, it appears he won’t be out for too long. Head coach Luke Richardson told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that Laurent Brossoit is on track to return roughly midway through their season-opening four-game road trip to start the season, meaning he might only miss a couple of games. The 31-year-old posted a 2.00 GAA with a .927 SV% in 23 games for Winnipeg last season, earning Brossoit a two-year, $6.6MM contract on the opening day of free agency this past summer.
- After requesting a trade earlier in the week, Jets prospect Colby Barlow is indeed on the move. OHL Oshawa announced that they have acquired the 19-year-old forward from Owen Sound in exchange for two players and six draft picks. Barlow was the 18th overall selection in 2023 following a 46-goal campaign with the Attack. However, his offensive numbers dipped last season although he still managed 40 goals and 58 points in 50 games before getting into three AHL contests. Barlow is too young to play there full-time this season but will be AHL-eligible next year, making this a pure one-year rental for the Generals.
- Still with the Jets, Murat Ates of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that forward David Gustafsson is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury sustained in Wednesday’s game against Calgary. The 24-year-old played in 39 games with Winnipeg last season, notching three goals and four assists. He inked a two-year, $1.67MM one-way contract with the Jets back in July.
Atlantic Notes: Knies, Marchand, Lindholm, Zub, Jones
The choice by Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube to make forward Matthew Knies an alternate captain for the team on Saturday night has led some to believe the organization is looking to keep him around for the long haul. In Monday’s ’32 Thoughts episode with Elliotte Friedman, the host said, “I think (Matthew) Knies is on the precipice of being a really long-term important piece of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s heading into the last year of his ELC and I think there have been some conversations about it. I don’t know how much or in-depth they have really talked about it, but there have been some rumors that there have been some conversations“.
It’s not a shocking report by any stretch of the imagination as Knies has been a top prospect for the Maple Leafs over the past several years. The former 57th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft finally became a full-time player in Toronto last season scoring 15 goals and 35 points in 80 games. He’s a popular candidate to play the wing with captain Auston Matthews and on the Maple Leafs’ second powerplay unit.
There haven’t been any specifics regarding extension conversations between Toronto and Knies but Elliotte’s report indicates the team would like to lock him down for quite some time. The team may want to get started on that sooner rather than later as Knies’ asking price will inevitably rise if he plays well on a line with Matthews for much of the year.
Other Atlantic notes:
- According to the team, the Boston Bruins are improving on the injury front as forwards Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm will return to the lineup tonight against the Flyers. Marchand had been recovering from several surgeries in the offseason and is making good on his promise that he would be ready for the regular season opener. Lindholm has spent the last few days practicing in a non-contact jersey for the Bruins with an undisclosed injury but it appears his ailment is now behind him.
- Similarly to the Bruins, the Ottawa Senators are also receiving positive news on the injury front with defenseman Artem Zub returning to the lineup this evening (X Link). Zub’s been dealing with a lower-body injury for much of the preseason but it appears he will be ready for the regular season barring any setbacks. The Russian defenseman will now have three games to get back to game speed as he’s failed to appear in a contest up to this point.
- Moving back to Boston — Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports forward Max Jones is getting closer to returning to the lineup. Jones is another Bruins forward that has failed to appear in a preseason contest but he should be ready for the regular season. Boston signed Jones this summer after being non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks to serve in the team’s bottom-six. He’s coming off one of his better offensive seasons with the Ducks scoring five goals and 15 points in 52 games last year.