Dave Litman
Insider Nick Kypreos initiated a bombshell rumor this past week, post-Trade Deadline. He suggested the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens went deep into blockbuster talks that would have sent young Buds’ star Matthew Knies to their archrival.
The Leafs find themselves in a dire situation, with a team spiralling to the bottom of the NHL standings, and without much to restock from in their prospects cupboard. Toronto is riding an eight-game losing streak, and haven’t won a game in over a month.
A few deals at the deadline got them some draft picks back—a first-rounder, a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth. But it’s going to take a lot more than that to turn this organization around.
That’s where the Knies talks come from—he’d bring back a nice haul, like, maybe three potential Matthew Knieses. And that’s where Kypreos’s latest bombshell rumor comes in.
Leafs insider says team ‘open to conversations’ on William Nylander
The Sportsnet insider (and former Leaf player) has doubled down on the innuendo. Speaking on the JD Bunkis Show, he suggested that GM Brad Treliving is also willing to listen on an even bigger name.
I did hear that they were open to have conversations about (William Nylander), and they should. It shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody… I would explore everything… Willy’s name isn’t a non-starter for the Toronto Maple Leafs anymore.
Kyper had more to say on the Nylander front.
“If you (would) move off of Knies and his potential to bring you back three or four pieces, Willy (Nylander) is right there. Talented, talented guy that could put a few teams over the top. Not to mention how much people would pay to see him.”
He suggested that they should even move away from the Knies talks and instead “see what Nylander’s potential would be to bring you back in a trade.”
Of course, if you’re gonna go there, you might as well listen on the captain, too, right?
Leafs to have ‘serious conversations’ about Auston Matthews’ status as well
Several people in the know have put it out there that the Leafs will have a talk with Auston Matthews after the season is over to gauge exactly where his head is at, as well.
As Pierre LeBrun wrote in The Athletic earlier this week, “there’s an expectation of some serious conversations involving (Matthews’ agent Judd) Moldaver and management on No. 34 this offseason. My personal feeling is it’s 50-50 on Matthews moving or staying.”
We’ll leave Kypreos with the final word here, as the Leafs try to figure out how to pick up the pieces from a season that’s gone from bad to dismal, to downright embarrassing.
“You gotta just see the reality here. The team is in the basement, and you’ve got to be looking at all options to try to get better,” Kypreos said. “I don’t think (Treliving) is doing his job if he’s not having those types of conversations at this point… You’ve got to be proactive here.”
Buckle up, folks. This could be one wild ride of an offseason in Leaf Land.
