Maple Leafs star makes shocking admission about the NHL standings originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Matthew Knies is confident.
In this case, the Toronto Maple Leafs star might be just a little too confident.
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Why’s that?
Knies says he’s so confident in his team that he isn’t even paying attention to the standings.
As World Hockey Report wrote on X: “I would check the standings if I was him.”
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That’s because the Maple Leafs aren’t having a good season. They’re eight points out of the last Eastern Conference wild card spot before action began on Jan. 28.
“There’s still a lot of hockey left, and the standings are still close, so I really haven’t looked at it much, to be honest with you… We’re still going to get there,” Knies told reporters earlier this week.
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There’s a level of fairness to be had here. Professional athletes do know they need to worry about their own stuff first. If they’re too focused on what other teams are doing, it won’t help their cause.
At the same time, a deficit in the standings can create a sense of urgency. Toronto doesn’t have much margin for error the rest of the way.
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The Leafs have a lot of talented players, too, so they really just need to find a way to start stacking some wins, sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, by the time Knies looks at the standings, it might be too late.
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