Matthew Knies’ quiet night against the Montreal Canadiens has already turned into a much bigger conversation in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs forward skated on a line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, but the group never really found a rhythm. Matthews did pick up an assist on a Darren Raddysh goal, while Roslovic and Knies spent most of the night out of the action, and that was enough to get people talking online.
One of the louder reactions came from Leafs Rundown on X, which pointed back to an earlier post making the case that Knies actually performs worse when he’s with Matthews.
“You know what would help Auston Matthews get back to being Auston Matthews - take Knies off his line.
They forced two ill fitting players (91/88) together for the longest time, wonder how long they do it with 23/34.”
That line of thinking has pushed the discussion beyond one bad game and into bigger questions about how Toronto is using its forwards. The argument is simple: the problem may not be the talent on hand, but the way the pieces are being arranged.
The idea now is whether Leafs head coach Jim Hiller is willing to make a real shakeup. The source of the debate suggests he can solve it, but only if he starts moving the lines around in a way Toronto has not really tried yet.
That would mean giving William Nylander or Gavin McKenna a look alongside Auston Matthews, while sliding Knies over to John Tavares. If that still doesn’t do the trick, Knies could even wind up on the third line to get him going again.
It’s not the cleanest solution, but the message is clear: Toronto needs to try something before the same issues start to pile up again. For Hiller, this could be the first major test of his time as Maple Leafs head coach.
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