Matthew Knies wasted little time making his presence felt in Columbus, and the Maple Leafs are already watching the fallout.
In the Blue Jackets’ first game of the 2026-27 season, Knies scored twice and added an assist, then followed it up with another helper on Saturday. That gives him four points through two games and puts him in rare company right away. His three-point debut tied the Blue Jackets mark for a player’s first game, matching Artemi Panarin’s three-assist opening night.
That’s only the beginning if Knies keeps this pace. A 42-goal season would push him past Rick Nash and Cam Atkinson, who share the franchise record with 41. He’s also on track to threaten Panarin’s Blue Jackets record for points in a season, which stands at 87.
The early signs suggest Knies is already clicking with Adam Fantilli, and that combination could give Columbus a dangerous one-two punch for a long time. For Toronto, that’s the uncomfortable part: the player they moved on from looks like he’s settling in fast and carrying real offensive weight.
The Leafs did get a strong return in Kirill Marchenko. He has two points in three games, including an assist on Toronto’s first goal of the season, and his chemistry with Auston Matthews has been building game by game. He’s also been part of Toronto’s best line early on.
Still, Marchenko comes without playoff experience, while Knies already has 27 postseason games on his résumé and 14 points at just 23 years old. If he keeps piling up points and climbing the Blue Jackets’ record lists, the trade will only look tougher for Toronto in hindsight.
For now, though, it’s still too soon to declare a winner. That part may take a few years to sort out.
In Other News...
Leafs Let Ottawa Off The Hook When It Mattered Most
After a 3-2 loss to the Senators, Jim Hiller had plenty to unpack about a game that slipped away in familiar fashion. The Maple Leafs created looks, saw the puck ring off posts and crossbars, and got a few encouraging shifts from the Tavares line, but the finish never came. Hiller said the missed chances were part of the story, along with penalties that stalled momentum and left Toronto chasing the game instead of controlling it.
The late push only added to the frustration. Toronto had a 6-on-5 power-play opportunity in the final moments, but the sequence never turned into the kind of sustained pressure the Leafs needed, and Hiller pointed to fatigue setting in as the clock wound down. It left the night with the same sour feeling that follows so many close losses: enough chances to change the result, not enough execution when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face Another McDavid Question They Cannot Ignore Early
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For Toronto, that matters because team-building questions never really go away in a cap system, they just change shape depending on the market. What used to look like a roster burden can suddenly look like cost certainty, and thats part of the contrast being drawn as the Leafs contract picture is viewed against a league where Edmonton is still hearing outside noise about Connor McDavids future, even if that speculation has little grounding in anything McDavid himself or the Oilers have indicated. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Got An Opening Ottawa Could Not Afford To Give Away
Ottawas back end took a hit in the first period against the Maple Leafs when Jake Sanderson left the game injured and did not return. The status of the injury is still unclear, including whether it has anything to do with a previous issue, but his absence immediately changed the feel of the matchup and gave Toronto a chance to push the pace.
The Leafs wasted little time taking advantage, scoring twice in a row after Sanderson exited to grab a 2-1 lead. In a game where every shift mattered, Ottawa could not afford to lose one of its top defensemen, and Toronto quickly showed why those kinds of openings rarely stay closed for long. [Read more 🡒]