Now the question is just how much better he can become.
“Just keep elevating all parts of my game really,” Knies said about his focus to begin this season. “I want to be a pretty reliable player on both sides of the puck and help produce, help create offense and support my linemates and make sure they’re having great games.”
Knies has skated at left wing on a line with center Auston Matthews and right wing Jack Roslovic through the first two days of training camp. The three will play together when the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens in their split-squad preseason opener at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDSI, TSN4).
“I really want to let that line play tomorrow night,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “I’ll watch it closely. That’s the line I’m most interested in.”
Likely because of the potential it could hold. While Matthews and Roslovic have history as teammates with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program from 2013-15, Matthews and Knies have played together consistently throughout Knies’ first three seasons in the NHL.
“It’s been good,” Knies said. “I think we’ve gelled quickly. Jack is a really good player and shoots the puck well, fast off the rush so we should gel well together here. Hopefully we can catch some momentum here in preseason and carry it into the real stuff.”
Roslovic, too, has liked the fit.
“(Knies’) strength is really impressive and when you mix that with his goal-scoring prowess, his ability to be disruptive net front and then playing all the way down to his defensive zone, I’m excited to play with him,” Roslovic said. “He’s a guy who can control the game in a little bit different way than Auston can. His ability to retrieve pucks, have some scoring touch and make some good plays is a guy you want to play with.”
Knies had a career-high 29 goals in 78 games in 2024-25, but dropped to 23 last season, with the knee injury playing a factor in the reduction after missing the same kind of power he skated with the year prior.
Could he be a 30-goal, 75 to 80-point player? His skill set would suggest so, but Knies did not want to set any specific offensive goals.
“I don’t think of it that way,” Knies said. “If the team is doing well, I’m doing well and that’s kind of how you have to focus -- make sure there’s a lot of team success and that we are winning games and then that folds over to yourself individually.”
Though Matthews did not put any specific numbers out either, he was clear in how effective he feels Knies can be.
“Yeah, just dominant,” Matthews said. “I think with the package he has and the strength he possesses down low, on the puck, winning battles, he’s an extremely hard guy to contain. He’s a really hard guy to play against. He’s a nightmare for defensemen battling down low.
“He looks great. He’s fast, skates well and has the skill and the hands and the shot and can put it all together. I think for us to have success, he’s a big part of the line as far as winning battles in front of the net, but obviously he has the skill to put the puck in and make plays as well.”
Knies became the subject of trade rumors prior to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline and then again around the 2026 NHL Draft. He is entering the second season of a six-year, $46.5 million contract ($7.75 million average annual value) signed on July 1, 2025.
The Phoenix, Arizona, native said general manager John Chayka assured him he considers Knies a valuable piece of the team. If it is up to him, Knies would like to stay right where he is.
“I want to be here,” Knies said. “They need me here, so I just have to keep going with that mindset and hopefully it all works out, and I can stay in the blue and white for a long, long time.”
