Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies got off to a hot start with his new team, scoring twice and adding an assist in his debut with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Tied 1-1 against the Buffalo Sabres, Knies converted a one-timer from Charlie Coyle in the slot on the power play to score his first with the Blue Jackets and give them the lead with just over two minutes left in the opening frame.
The 23-year-old picked up a helper less than 50 seconds later when he played the puck up the boards to Zach Werenski, whose point shot was deflected past goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen by Adam Fantilli.
The intermission did little to cool off Knies in his first game with the Blue Jackets as he found the net again in the second period, this time tipping in a point shot from Emil Andrae to make the score 4-2.
The Blue Jackets acquired Knies from the Maple Leafs on Monday along with Steven Lorentz, Andrae and a second-round pick in exchange for Kirill Marchenko, Miles Wood and Elvis Merzlikins.
The Phoenix native’s name had been in trade rumours dating back to the 2025-26 season.
Knies appeared in 240 games for the Maple Leafs over four seasons and contributed 67 goals and 93 assists.
He also skated in 27 playoff games and had eight goals and six assists.
The Leafs selected Knies in the second round, 57th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Knies signed a six-year, $46.5 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs in June of 2025.
