SUNRISE, Fla. – Matthew Knies will make his Toronto Maple Leafs debut Monday against the Florida Panthers, albeit against the team’s wishes to give its top prospect another day to ease in.
“It actually wasn’t the plan initially,” head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed a couple hours before warmup. “Great opportunity for him to get right in. Hasn’t been ideal circumstances for him in terms of his travel and even his day-to-day, medicals and all these things.
“But ideal circumstances passed us long ago, so here we are.”
After much deliberation, Keefe has decided to line Knies up alongside fellow NCAA products Alexander Kerfoot and Noel Acciari and will do his best to throw the 20-year-old out against the playoff-hungry Panthers’ bottom six.
“Two veteran guys that talk a lot, know the structure, and are responsible defensively,” said Keefe.
Knies’ whirlwind weekend kicked off with the University of Minnesota’s overtime loss in the college championship game in Tampa. He then flew back to Minnesota with his Golden Gophers teammates, signed his three-year entry-level deal with Toronto, and flew back to Florida Sunday night to join his pro team.
Monday was spent completing the necessary medical exams and standardized tests to compete in the NHL.
“Maybe that’s tiring for him. Maybe less thinking, less time to worry about things. Just go out and play and have fun,” Keefe said.
Sam Lafferty was supposed to play Monday but is dealing with an undisclosed injury aggravated in Sunday’s practice and is unlikely to suit up Tuesday in Tampa as well.
Calle Järnkrok is still day-to-day with his injury, and the Maple Leafs only have 11 healthy forwards on their roster.
So tight is the organization to the salary cap, the Maple Leafs once again signed an amateur tryout goaltender, Nick Chenard, to back up starter Ilya Samsonov against the Panthers.
The league informed the Leafs they are not eligible for a cap-exempt goaltending recall for this game.
And it’s unclear if they’ll be able to recall Joseph Woll in time for Tuesday’s date in Tampa.
Why are the Maple Leafs prohibited from recalling another healthy goalie?
“Not a question for me,” Keefe replied. “I don’t have the details on that.”
The team’s goal is to get Knies as comfortable as possible as quickly as possible.
“First game,” Ryan O’Reilly smiles. “It’s going to be a real cool experience for him.”