Leafs' Knies had an unintentionally hilarious answer today
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies might’ve been intending to praise a teammate as a role model, but his words didn’t exactly come out that way.
Speaking to the media following a morning skate ahead of Toronto’s matchup with the Arizona Coyotes, Knies was asked a question about what his teammate Auston Matthews meant to the growth of hockey within the state of Arizona.
With Knies born in Phoenix in 2002 and Matthews growing up in neighbouring Scottsdale, the two have long been linked for their ability to help raise the profile of their sport in a typically non-traditional hockey market.
“He means everything, when I was growing up, he was someone to look forward to, he was a big inspiration to a lot of kids growing up,” Knies said of Matthews.
Matthews, some five years older than Knies, made history when he was selected first overall by the Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft. While he was actually born in California, Matthews came up through many of the same local Arizona programs that Knies later joined.
With Matthews already having scored 49 goals so far in just 53 games for the Leafs this season, it’d make sense why a young player like Knies would look up to him.
But it was the second part of Knies’ answer about Matthews that didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
“He’s detrimental to Arizona hockey. He means a lot to this community,” he added.
āHeās detrimental to Arizona hockey.ā
I think this was a Freudian slip from Matthew Knies talking about Auston Matthews, butā¦ pic.twitter.com/i9237OrQia
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) February 21, 2024
With Merriam-Webster defining the word “detrimental” as “obviously harmful,” it seems like Knies’ choice of words wasn’t likely his intended definition.
One of the most likely choices of words was probably “instrumental,” defined “as serving as a crucial means, agent, or tool.”
In any case, Matthews and Knies will take to the ice tonight in front of an arena full of their family and friends. Let’s just hope Knies isn’t asked to judge any spelling bees in the near future.
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