The Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets got together on a major trade before the 2026-27 season began, with forwards Kirill Marchenko and Matthew Knies being the principal pieces in the deal moving to the other location.
And for Knies, it was an impressive debut in a Blue Jackets uniform, as he scored twice and added an assist in a 6-3 win on home ice at Nationwide Arena over the Buffalo Sabres.
But since then, he’s yet to find the back of the net, and has only a single assist.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Matthew Knies Is Struggling With Blue Jackets After Fast Start
Knies, who scored twice while adding an assist in his debut with the Blue Jackets against the Sabres on Oct. 1, has scored zero goals since then in the six games that he’s played since then.
In fact, he only has an assist, which came in the Blue Jackets’ next contest against the Utah Mammoth, a 4-1 loss on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, meaning he’s gone pointless in his last five outings.
Right now, it’s been a rough stretch for Knies and the Blue Jackets, who are currently in second-to-last place in the Metropolitan Division standings with a 3-4 record through seven games.
They’ll be looking for Knies to provide more scoring as he demonstrated that he’s capable of doing while with the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Had Strong Words For Knies
Late last month, Knies’ former Maple Leafs teammate Auston Matthews said that the young forward displays a “team-first” mentality and that he consistently comes to the rink ready to battle.
“For him, he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his ceiling,” Matthews said of Knies. “He’s going to continue to get better and better, and he works at it as well.”
“He’s a team-first guy and that’s something you can appreciate about somebody,” Matthews continued. “He just battles and he doesn’t complain, just does whatever he needs to do to get himself ready to play and he just goes out and competes. It’s another good step in the right direction, taking on a little more leadership being a guy that’s now been here for a few years.”
Last season, in what turned out to be his last year with the Maple Leafs, Knies registered a career-best 66 points.
So far in 2026-27, he’s on pace for 23 goals with 23 assists.
Matthew Knies’ Maple Leafs Trade Has Taken Another Turn