Dave Litman
If the Toronto Maple Leafs really are open to discussing a Matthew Knies trade—and several insiders around the sport say that they were at the deadline—he would bring the team back a much better return than either Auston Matthews or William Nylander could. So says insider Nick Kypreos, and his explanation, centering on the fact that Knies does not have any trade protection, makes sense:
If the Leafs are looking to make a big splash, a deal with Knies could attract a bidding war with far more teams involved than if they were to shop around Auston Matthews or William Nylander, who have no-move clauses and would essentially pick their future teams. With Knies, the Leafs can control the whole process, which could give them a nice selection of high-end talent to choose from.
To that end, Kypreos names three teams that make the most sense as trade partners for the Leafs in any Matthew Knies talks. Starting with the team that really started all these rumors in the first place:
Montreal Canadiens
GM Kent Hughes got everyone’s attention when he said after the deadline that he was working on something “significant” right down to the wire, and could revisit it in the summer. The Knies rumors were born, courtesy of Kypreos and other insiders like Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Renaud Lavoie of TVA.
The Leafs would be looking for “three or four pieces”, and, of course, the Habs are overflowing with top young players & prospects. Kyper says Michael Hage, Dave Reinbacher, Owen Beck and Kaiden Guhle would be “interesting names to watch.”
Chicago Blackhawks
Another team with a boatload of young assets they could offer. They aren’t nearly as far along as the Canadiens in becoming a serious contender, but Knies would be a huge addition for them to take the next step. Kyper points out that the Hawks have had interest in Knies going back a few years, when former Toronto GM Kyle Dubas talked to them about a trade that would have brought Brandon Hagel to Toronto. “The Blackhawks’ interest in Knies hasn’t wavered,” writes Kypreos.
Mammoth have plenty of notable prospects that could interest Leafs in a Knies trade package
Utah Mammoth
They’ve been looking to make a big splash up front, and although they did land a coveted trade piece at the deadline in defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, they’re still looking for a top-six difference maker. Kyper names a ton of impressive prospects the Mammoth are sitting on that would greatly interest the Leafs, including Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Maveric Lamoureux, and Russian Daniil But.
Kypreos sums it all up for Toronto by noting that “if this deadline proved anything, it’s that adding significant picks and prospects will be hard to do if a trade doesn’t involve one of Matthews, Nylander or Knies.”
