Toronto Maple Leafs fans have a good reason to keep an eye on what happens in Anaheim with Cutter Gauthier, even if the Ducks winger has nothing directly to do with Toronto’s on-ice business.
The connection runs through Matthew Knies. Back in the summer of 2025, Knies signed a six-year extension with a $7.75 million AAV, and now Gauthier - a similar player, just a year or two further behind in his development - is on the verge of landing a contract that could come in at roughly double that number per season.
Gauthier is still unsigned as a restricted free agent, but the numbers being floated around him have climbed fast. The latest chatter points to a deal in the $15-17 million AAV range, and one report says he may not accept anything below the $18 million AAV Leo Carlsson just received from Anaheim after his offer-sheet battle with Philadelphia.
That makes Knies’ contract look better by the day.
The two players are not carbon copies, but the overlap is obvious. Both are big left wings who bring a power element and do most of their damage around the crease rather than as pure distributors.
Gauthier just finished a massive breakout season, piling up 41 goals and 28 assists for 69 points in 76 games. He also added 11 power-play goals and seven game-winners.
Knies posted big numbers of his own. This past season, he set new career highs with 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points in 79 games, and he had already shown growth the year before with 29 goals and 58 points.
Where Gauthier is viewed more as a finisher, Knies is more of a classic power forward with skill. Reports have framed Gauthier as a legitimate 40-goal threat, and Sportsnet put him among the league’s top young talents.
NHL Edge has him in the 99th percentile for hardest shot. Knies, meanwhile, does a lot of his scoring from the dirty areas - tipping pucks, crashing the net, and finishing rebounds.
There’s another important similarity: both entered restricted free agency without arbitration rights, and both are key pieces for their teams going forward. Gauthier is 22.
Knies is 23. Neither is finished, and both organizations are betting on more growth over the next several seasons.
The bigger picture is where the contract comparison really starts to sting for Anaheim. The Ducks are feeling the pressure of a rising cap, and Gauthier’s negotiations are happening right in the wake of the Carlsson deal, which only came together after Philadelphia forced Anaheim’s hand with an offer sheet. That reset the market for young forwards, and it left the Ducks with very little leverage to push Gauthier down.
Toronto, on the other hand, got in ahead of that wave. Knies’ extension came together quietly over a summer weekend, alongside John Tavares’ extension, with none of the drama that has followed Gauthier’s situation.
At the time, $7.75 million looked like a team-friendly number. Now it could be one of the best bargains in the league.
Knies also took a discount to remain with the Maple Leafs, while Gauthier is expected to squeeze Anaheim for as much as he can get. If a player with a similar profile signs for $15 million or more, Toronto’s deal looks even sharper.
And if Gauthier lands a five-year contract, Anaheim could be paying premium money twice over. Knies will still get more expensive if he keeps trending up, but depending on the exact terms, he may remain well below Gauthier’s number for a long time.
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