The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a stunning trade before the season, sending Matthew Knies as part of a massive package to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Kirill Marchenko.
The Maple Leafs then signed Marchenko to a major new contract, and he’s fit in extremely well so far this season before an injury landed him on Injured Reserve.
While Knies scored twice in his Blue Jackets debut in the opening game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres, he has yet to find the back of the net since then. Even more concerning, however, is his point total since his debut, which isn’t anything close to what the Blue Jackets were expecting or needed.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Matthew Knies Slumping Badly For Blue Jackets
It was about as good a debut for Knies with the Blue Jackets as he could have wanted, scoring twice and adding an assist in a win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena.
In fact, he became the first player in Blue Jackets history to score twice in his team debut.
But since then, he’s yet to find the back of the net. In fact, in his last 10 games, he has only two assists; so far in the 11 games that he’s played, he has just the aforementioned two goals with three assists.
Right now, that’s a pace of 15 goals and 23 assists in 84 games played. While that isn’t a terrible output for an average NHL player, that’s not at all the kind of offense that the Blue Jackets were counting on from Knies, who had 58 and 66 points in 2024-25 and 2025-26 for the Maple Leafs.
Adding insult to injury was him watching Marchenko score at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 20 as part of a rough 6-2 loss.
Matthew Knies Wanted His Time In Toronto To Last Longer
Before facing the Maple Leafs on Oct. 20, Knies admitted that he wishes his time in Toronto would have lasted a bit longer.
“I wish I could’ve experienced my time there a little bit longer, but it happens. Things like that happen,” Knies said.
“I was excited to get an opportunity here. A lot of young guys to play with, a good core, one of the best defensemen in the league. It’s a fun place to be, a fun group of guys. I was pretty fortunate to get here.
We’re just going to try to get off on the right foot here. We’re not playing our best hockey right now, but I think it’ll show in the next few games here.”
Knies is under contract through 2031 with a $7,750,000 salary cap hit.
Maple Leafs’ Trade of Matthew Knies Takes Brutal New Turn