Marner’s Exit Helped Make Knies a Maple Leafs Leader
When Mitch Marner packed his bags this summer and headed for the Vegas Golden Knights, it felt like the end of a long, complicated chapter in Toronto. Nobody questioned his talent. The issue was everything around it. The pressure, the expectations, the microscope, the sense that every quiet night was a referendum on his character. At some point last season, you could almost see the weight gathering on his shoulders.
Marner Needed a Reset, and Knies Needed Some Space
Marner said he needed a reset — and for his family’s sake, it was probably the right call. Toronto had become a tough place for him, and the mood between player and fan base wasn’t going to heal overnight. So he left for Vegas, a quieter market, a ready-made contender, and a fresh start where the temperature isn’t always set to “boil.”
What his departure did, though, was something few of us fully anticipated: it cracked open a door for Matthew Knies. And Knies didn’t just step through it — he took the room.
With Marner gone, Toronto suddenly had space in the top six that wasn’t predetermined by seniority or contract size. Someone had to fill those touches, those minutes, those offensive responsibilities. And Knies, who had been knocking on the door last season, finally got the runway he needed.
Thus Far in the Season, Knies Is Outproducing Marner
The results speak for themselves. Knies has quietly outproduced Marner this season: 26 points to Marner’s 25, the same number of goals (five), more shots, and slightly better finishing. And he did it in three fewer games. He’s playing about the same minutes Marner logged in Toronto, but with none of the fuss.
Perhaps it’s easier for Knies, and maybe he won’t be ahead of Marner when the season finishes. However, for right now, he’s beating his former linemate. For Knies, there’s no expectation to carry the puck every shift, no demand to be the magician. He works, battles, gets open, and makes plays when they’re there.
With Marner Gone, Knies Had the Space to Grow More Quickly
What makes this so interesting is how different their games are. Marner was always at his best with the puck, steering the play, shaping it. Knies is almost the opposite. He’s a force of nature around the net. He wins pucks. He leans on people. He creates chaos. And yet, here he is producing at Marner’s level without needing to orchestrate the entire offense.
Sometimes teams evolve by design. Sometimes they evolve because of circumstance. This feels like the latter. Marner’s exit wasn’t planned as a turning of the page, but it might have become one anyway.
The Maple Leafs didn’t just survive losing a star. They uncovered a new one. And the surprising part is that Knies only seems to be getting started.