Roomie alert: Tavares hosting Leafs rookie at his house
Things are getting a little busier at home this year for Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares.
Back in April, during the midst of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tavares and his wife, Aryne, welcomed their daughter Rae, the couple’s third child after having sons named Jace and Axton.
But he’s also welcomed another roommate into the family unit — Leafs’ youngster Matthew Knies, set to be a full-time team member for the first time this season.
Knies staying again at Tavares' house to start the season. Not a coincidence that both #Leafs said they watched just the first two periods of Bedard's NHL debut last night before shutting it down.
— Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) October 11, 2023
It’s the same living arrangement the pair had in the spring when Knies first made his NHL debut.
“He offered up his domain to me. I’ve been staying in his basement. I have my own little private area, so it’s been really nice. He’s been really welcoming. I’m just really happy that I can be around someone who has a ton of NHL experience. Someone I can learn from and take notes,” Knies said in April, as per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
After finishing his 2022-23 season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers — who lost in last year’s NCAA championship game to Quinnipiac — Knies joined Toronto for the final three games of last year’s regular season.
The 20-year-old Phoenix, Arizona, native also played seven games in the postseason for Toronto before suffering a concussion in the second round against the Florida Panthers that caused his season to end prematurely.
He’s now the second-youngest player on the roster after 19-year-old Fraser Minten cracked the team’s opening night lineup.
While Knies will undoubtedly eventually find his own place in Toronto, assuming he sticks around, having the Tavares family in his corner should probably help ease the nerves a little bit.
Toronto’s first game in the regular season can be seen on Sportsnet, where Toronto and Montreal will drop the puck at 7 pm ET later tonight.
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