NHL insider believes multiple teams would be 'sniffing around' Matthew Knies, reveals Toronto Maple Leafs' priority

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a busy offseason ahead of them, as general manager Brad Treliving is going to need to come up with a solution that satisfies the club concerning the futures of Mitch Marner and John Tavares; both players, part of the club's "Core Four," are set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

Speaking of free agents, Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies will become a restricted free agent on July 1. As an RFA, the Leafs retain the right of first refusal for any contract that Knies signs with another club, including potential offer sheets.

During a recent airing of "First Up" on TSN, NHL Insider Adam Scully said that he thinks chatter of a Leafs' rival sending an offer sheet towards Knies is a valid concern.

"Well, I mean, it's valid." Scully said. "Like, it's valid that other teams would be sniffing around this guy and saying, why not? Like, Toronto's got, you know, they've got some decisions to make that could be pretty expensive. Like Mitch Marner is one of those. John Tavares continues to play well. So I think if you're a team that has a ton of cap space and covets a guy like Matthew Knies—which, you know, let's be honest, I think there's 31 other teams that would want a player like that. For sure, there's validity around it."

However, Scully's prediction didn't confirm the worst-case scenario that Leafs fans had feared.

"Do I think it'll happen? I don't think Toronto will let it get to the point where it happens," he said. "Like he's, he would have to be—like he's way too high up on their priority list to kind of leave this as an afterthought and allow someone to swoop in and make it happen. And Toronto's, like, Toronto has craved a player like this for such a long time."

NHL offer sheets are exceedingly rare; there have only been five signed since 2012, including two this past offseason by Philip Broberg and Dylan Hollaway with the St. Louis Blues.

Matthew Knies has quickly demonstrated his value to the Maple Leafs

Matthew Knies, who was the 57th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft by Toronto, has shown that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level of professional hockey.

Knies already scored 29 goals for the Leafs this season and is aiming to reach the 30-goal mark. With four games remaining in Toronto's regular season, there's every reason to believe he can achieve this feat for the first time in his young NHL career.

He's playing in the final season of his three-year, $2,775,000 contract with a $925K cap hit.