Elliotte Friedman Reveals the Potential Terms of Matthew Knies' Next Deal

Matthew Knies was one of the best sophomores in the NHL last season as he came through with an incredible campaign that included 29 goals and 29 assists.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are very lucky to have him, and there is no doubt that they are excited to see where he goes from here. However, they must sign him to a contract extension first.

The Leafs and Knies have been working on the new deal, but there have been some hang-ups over whether or not this will be a long-term deal or a bridge one.

Recently, Elliotte Friedman provided some clarity on the Knies situation during the '32 Thoughts' podcast. Basically, Knies should be compared to Wyatt Johnston and JJ Peterka.

Based on these recent signings, it would appear as though Knies could be getting a five-year deal at a salary of $7.5 million per season or above. Given his goal-scoring, this would make a lot of sense.

While the Leafs would love a long-term deal, you have to understand that these young guys want to take advantage of a rising salary cap. Knies has no interest in wasting precious UFA years.

If the Maple Leafs do get this done, then general manager Brad Treliving will be getting a ton of praise from all of the fans out there.

Meanwhile, Treliving will be focused on the NHL Draft tonight, where he may just have to make some trades to improve the team's draft positioning.

Either way, this next week is going to pivotal as it will set the tone for the Leafs' upcoming summer.