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Matthew Knies nominated for the Hobey Baker Award

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darrylsittler27 said:
My only interest is how they will do in the playoffs now. We know they are a regular season team and Dubas is on thin ice. That interests me, what happens next? I think this franchise is a lot furthur from a cup but we will see what TD brings. Dont like it? Too bad. many of us are on the sidelines and dont think this team will go far.


When does he arrive, we need help.
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The earliest would be around March 25th but if his team makes the finals (which they're likely to do) he would likely step foot in Toronto April 9th.
 
We've been warned to not expect too much from Knies right away after turning pro. It's a big jump from the NCAA to the NHL especially for the power forward type. I really like his body positioning instincts above everything else for making him a potential exception to the rule. I wouldn't count on him contributing but I wouldn't count him out either. I'm reminded that historically that it took players like Erik Cole, John Le Clair, Alex Tuch some time before making a big impact at the NHL level.
 
The last time a Leaf GM was in the last year of a deal and under pressure to perform before an extension was granted, was when JFJ was in charge and made that idiotic goalie trade with Boston that brought us less than 1.5 years of Raycroft while Boston solidified their goaltender position for the next 13 years with Tukka Rask.

Unless the return is a game changer, and involves a great player that would impact this team for years to come, you do not trade a player like Knies who fills a big need on this team and will do so very cheaply for years to come which is vital given our cap situation. I'm pretty much ok with any other player outside of Knies as long as we're not trading for rentals.
 
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cipher said:
The last time a Leaf GM was in the last year of a deal and under pressure to perform before an extension was granted, was when JFJ was in charge and made that idiotic goalie trade with Boston that brought us less than 1.5 years of Raycroft while Boston solidified their goaltender position for the next 13 years with Tukka Rask.

Unless the return is a game changer, and involves a great player that would impact this team for years to come, you do not trade a player like Knies who fills a big need on this team and will do so very cheaply for years to come which is vital given our cap situation. I'm pretty much ok with any other player outside of Knies as long as we're not trading for rentals.
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the Rask trade was brutal but jr wasn't in his last yr , he followed up that trade the following yr by moving a 1st/2nd/4th plus taking a salary dump back for Toskala , SJ used our picks to move up and take Couture
 
hotpaws said:
the Rask trade was brutal but jr wasn't in his last yr , he followed up that trade the following yr by moving a 1st/2nd/4th plus taking a salary dump back for Toskala , SJ used our picks to move up and take Couture
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You're right, I forgot the Toskala trade was the following year. Two stupendously poor deals by a "dead man walking" GM. Living through those years with truly incompetent GM's was very painful.

This trade tree is a fun look at what the Toskala trade started - https://assets1.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_1198.jpg
 
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A fun exercise. Just a little head to head comparison of 2 bigger players. Not meant to be anything other than showing patience for the development of bigger players is key.

Player A. 6'6", 215 lbs. - 2 years NCAA

GP: 36 G: 14 A: 18 P: 32
GP: 34 G: 19 A: 13 P: 31

Player B. 6'3", 222 lbs. - 2nd year NCAA

GP: 33 G: 15 A: 18 P: 33
GP: 28 G: 17 A: 13 P: 30 (to date)

Player 1 is Tage Thompson, and Player 2 is Matthew Knies. Not saying they are equal, but I am saying that Knies is on a similar trajectory with a similar skillset (Knies might be more physical).

IMO the Leafs would be wise to hang onto him and not give him up like the Blues did with Thompson.
 
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Mess said:
I personally wouldn't trade Knies, but I'm not so sure Dubas won't.

Knies and Leafs 1st are Leafs 2 best trade chips.
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He also said he doesn't plan to trade either. That suggest to me he will be going after guys like McCabe and Barbashev, than guys like Meier and Chychrun

francis246 said:
I’m not going to get into a back and forth with you again. But there’s no proof of that. We have no idea what the conversation was. It could have been what you suggested or maybe Dubas brought the idea of trading back to the table. Or maybe one of our scouts did because there were multiple players they liked available.

It likely wasn’t a Hunter decision or Dubas decision solely.
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I believe the story was that they didn't want to draft TK because they had already drafted a smaller skilled winger in Marner and there was a group of D men they liked that they knew they could get a few picks later so then Dubas made the trade to get more picks.
 
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kb said:
A fun exercise. Just a little head to head comparison of 2 bigger players. Not meant to be anything other than showing patience for the development of bigger players is key.

Player A. 6'6", 215 lbs. - 2 years NCAA

GP: 36 G: 14 A: 18 P: 32
GP: 34 G: 19 A: 13 P: 31

Player B. 6'3", 222 lbs. - 2nd year NCAA

GP: 33 G: 15 A: 18 P: 33
GP: 28 G: 17 A: 13 P: 30 (to date)

Player 1 is Tage Thompson, and Player 2 is Matthew Knies. Not saying they are equal, but I am saying that Knies is on a similar trajectory with a similar skillset (Knies might be more physical).

IMO the Leafs would be wise to hang onto him and not give him up like the Blues did with Thompson.
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You can also add Matt Boldy and Jordan Greenway who had similar production in college and both had some AHL time as well.
 
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Racer88 said:
I of 80. Bwahahahahah hilarious………oh and who is Hobey Baker anyway
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I think he used to play Pflugelhorn in Cab Calloways Orchestra and could "frisk the whiskers" with the best of "the Gabriels" who've "got their boots done up tight!" If you be hep to that jive? Dig it
 
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Hopefully this guy can plug in to the lineup and add a new dynamic to the forward core come playoffs. Would be massive.
 
justashadowof said:
We've been warned to not expect too much from Knies right away after turning pro. It's a big jump from the NCAA to the NHL especially for the power forward type. I really like his body positioning instincts above everything else for making him a potential exception to the rule. I wouldn't count on him contributing but I wouldn't count him out either. I'm reminded that historically that it took players like Erik Cole, John Le Clair, Alex Tuch some time before making a big impact at the NHL level.
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Wasn't Adam Gaudet a hoby baker finalist
Playing on Marlies
 
Why would Knies win it over Cooley or Snuggerud? Did you have to play a full NCAA season before you can win it?
 
kb said:
A fun exercise. Just a little head to head comparison of 2 bigger players. Not meant to be anything other than showing patience for the development of bigger players is key.

Player A. 6'6", 215 lbs. - 2 years NCAA

GP: 36 G: 14 A: 18 P: 32
GP: 34 G: 19 A: 13 P: 31

Player B. 6'3", 222 lbs. - 2nd year NCAA

GP: 33 G: 15 A: 18 P: 33
GP: 28 G: 17 A: 13 P: 30 (to date)

Player 1 is Tage Thompson, and Player 2 is Matthew Knies. Not saying they are equal, but I am saying that Knies is on a similar trajectory with a similar skillset (Knies might be more physical).

IMO the Leafs would be wise to hang onto him and not give him up like the Blues did with Thompson.
Click to expand...

It is not even like we need him to play top 6 either. Jarnkrok has quelled the need for a top 6 winger with his play alongside Marner + Tavares. 20 points in his last 26 games since he more or less moved up. That is better than anything you are realistically getting on the market right now.

Of course if he shows the aptitude, then I doubt they will care too much about putting Jarnkrok in the bottom 6 again as long as he plays much better than he did the last time.

If Knies can play 2PP and take ZAR's role except with more offensive opportunities and play better than ZAR (which shouldn't be that hard), then he is a big addition for us. Literally and figuratively.
 
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TheScandal89 said:
Why would Knies win it over Cooley or Snuggerud? Did you have to play a full NCAA season before you can win it?
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Fantilli is on the list, so no.

Points are not the sole determining factor, and often you get guys who are not even going to be good AHLers on the list.

I think Knies gets on there partially because he is a more well-rounded player than most guys who are otherwise at the top of the list. He is physically dominant, he is a good defensive player (including PK's), and he is clutch. Cooley and Snuggerud have more points, but I don't think they dominate games as much as Knies has this year. Clearly University of Minnesota fans agree, considering they put him at the top and also voted in Faber and LaCombe before Cooley and Snuggerud.

I am not surprised he is on the list, and high up on the list. Not sure he should be #1, but that is less crazy than some of the names on this list being there at all over Cooley, Snuggerud, Hutson, Farrell, or even some of the other top NCAA UFA's like McAllister, Graf, and Livingstone. Wise, Mastrosimone, etc. have had fairly underwhelming seasons overall.
 
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Menzinger said:
Not quite. There are different stages. Players are nominated by teams, fan/general public voting is used to narrow the field to the finalists, the award winner is then selected by a committee of officials from college hockey/the media
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Thx. That sound a little better
 
Niagara Bill said:
I agree 100%, adding a 3rd line winger who can skate, play the body, has size is needed in a playoff round. Knies could be that guy. No sense trading him for that type of player.
Everyone thinks we need a second or first line guy. What I think we need is 3rd line who can PLAY and major role.
However, I am sure I could not trust the evaluation on a big body guy by Dubas and Keefe.
By that I mean these clowns may trade away the exact player we need for a marginally acceptable player (remember Foligno).
It is really strange that the Marlies are having a GREAT season and not one player can make the jump.
Not one Marlie has joined this team and made an impact for more than a couple of periods.
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Its hard for a guy to come up and make a difference in a superior league by playing fourth line and 7 minutes a night.
 
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