Leafs’ Matthew Knies reveals extent of his injury: ‘It sucks when you don’t feel like yourself’ – The Athletic

CALGARY — The list of Maple Leafs looking forward to the Olympic break is likely not short. A condensed NHL schedule to accommodate the men’s Olympic hockey tournament means the Leafs will have played four more games in the same amount of time this season compared to the 2024-25 campaign.

More games in a shorter period mean less time to recover from any injury. And so perhaps no Leaf is looking forward to the break and the rest that will come with it more than Matthew Knies.

For much of this season, the Leafs power forward has not looked like the same player who potted 29 goals in his sophomore campaign.

The left winger is usually a relaxed, happy-go-lucky persona around the Leafs dressing room. This season, however, it’s easy to see how a nagging injury has dragged him down. Off the ice, Knies speaks with a sterner tone at times, with his injury likely weighing on him. While on the ice, he’s not nearly as physically dominant in the ugly areas.

“It’s frustrating,” Knies said of his injury in a one-on-one conversation with The Athletic. “I think a lot of the things that allow me to be a better player and to dominate is my physical attributes, and I just don’t think I have that to one hundred percent right now. That’s what makes it frustrating: I can’t really do what I want do.”

For the first time, Knies has revealed what’s been ailing him: a knee injury sustained earlier this season, which kept him out of three games in November. It is also the reason why Knies’ movements appear hobbled at times, or why he may not finish his checks with as much force as he had previously.

This version of Matthew Knies is not the Matthew Knies that Leafs fans — and the management and coaching staff — fell in love with as an unrelenting rookie who quickly adapted to the NHL. Nor is this last year’s version of Knies, who exploded in his second full NHL campaign and put himself in the conversation for the United States Olympic hockey team.

Knies knows that. He is in the first year of a six-year extension that carries an AAV of $7,750,000. His long-term extension and sizeable cap hit have made him a key piece of the Leafs’ present and future. Any discussion of a Leafs roster retool in the wake of a disappointing season likely includes Knies staying in Toronto.

Through October and November, Knies averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time. He was third on the Leafs in scoring through those two months, with 26 points in 22 games. Since the injury, Knies’ ice time has reduced through December and January. His 14:45 TOI against the Calgary Flames on Monday was tied for his lowest total of the season.

The pressure to perform and make good on his contract extension is mounting on Knies. It’s pressure that is, in part, self-imposed.

“It sucks when you don’t feel like yourself,” Knies said.

Now, Knies’ playmaking has taken a step. Through just 53 games, he’s already topped the 29 assists he logged last year with 31 assists this season.

Furthermore, he’s on pace for 20 goals over an 82-game season this year. The Leafs need more of his greasy, hard-charging approach around the net, an approach he is struggling to apply due to his knee injury.

“It’s been the same for a while now,” Knies said of his knee injury. “If you keep playing on it, you keep irritating it.”

The irritation has been consistent and nagging enough that his production and impact have lagged. As a result, Knies’ longtime spot on the top line is now owned by Bobby McMann.

There were multiple points during the Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Flames on Monday when Knies looked far from full health. He had a clear chance in front of Flames goalie Dustin Wolf, but struggled to pack as much punch on his shot as he would have last season. Additionally, there were moments when Knies looked a step slow during puck battles.

“I can help, and I can try to produce, but obviously not to the level that I want to be,” Knies admitted. “But it’s still enough that I feel like I’m making somewhat of an improvement to the team.”

The Leafs need more than somewhat of a contribution. Knies knows that.

He also knows that rest is largely what’s required for his knee injury, but rest has been hard to come by in a compressed schedule. January was the most daunting month for the Leafs: they played 16 times in 31 days and only once had more than a single day off between games. Not surprisingly, Knies’ production through January was the worst of any month this season.

“This break will be very beneficial for me because there’s not a lot of time in between games to let it heal up and take care of it,” Knies said of his injury.

Knies said he will return to his family home in Arizona during the Olympic break. He has treatment planned for his knee injury in Arizona.

While the Leafs have improved with disclosing injury information, there are still times when specific information is not disclosed. When asked what specific injury is forcing Morgan Rielly to miss at least the next two games, head coach Craig Berube would only say that it is an “upper body” issue.

And so Knies deserves some credit for being up front about his injury and his hopes to make things right during the Olympic break.

Once Knies gets the rest he’s long desired, he believes the version of himself that Leafs fans love and management invested heavily in will return.

“Hopefully, when I come back from the break,” Knies said, “this is all behind me.”