James Nichols
The rumor mill is going crazy the last few days. Now that we have confirmation Matthew Knies was all but traded, the New Jersey Devils have an opportunity to not only match the exposed offer, but they can certainly crush the proposed deal.
Knies, Dylan Larkin, even Mathew Barzal‘s name is out there on the mill.
Yet, according to David Pagnotta via The Fourth Period and later confirmed by Elliotte Friedman, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs had shaken hands on a deal that would have sent Knies—the young power forward—to the Habs. In return, Toronto was set to receive promising Russian prospect winger Alexander Zharovsky, one additional high-end prospect, and a pair of first-round draft picks.
Paperwork snags and the tight deadline ultimately killed the move after the trade details were submitted after the 3 P.M. deadline. But, it laid bare exactly what Knies is worth on the trade market right now.
At 23 years old, 6-foot-3, and carrying a generous $7.75 million cap hit through 2031 in the rising cap era, Knies has emerged as one of the NHL’s more intriguing young wingers.
His blend of size, physicality, and growing offensive production makes him the type of player who can anchor a top-six group for years. For teams like the Devils, who are perpetually hunting for that blend of youth and heft up front, the conversation naturally turns to whether they could step up and get a deal done.
The short answer? They absolutely have the pieces.
Matching the Montreal Blueprint
Montreal’s package was built around one flashy, high-upside prospect in Zharovsky—a recent KHL Rookie of the Year who brings skill and scoring potential—plus another quality young player and significant draft capital. New Jersey’s prospect pool, long considered one of the deeper ones in the league, lines up nicely for a similar structure.
The Devils could comfortably offer a centerpiece like Anton Silayev, the towering 6-foot-7 defenseman with legitimate two-way upside, or the more polished Seamus Casey, whose offensive instincts have already flashed at the NHL level.
Either would serve as a strong counterpart to Zharovsky: a young, projectable talent with a high-ceiling that Toronto could plug into their lineup or develop patiently. Pair that with a secondary piece—perhaps a forward like Lenni Hämeenaho or another mid-tier prospect—and New Jersey’s own projected first-rounder (12th overall) plus a future first, and you’ve got a package that mirrors Montreal’s closely in both quantity and quality.
Toronto’s defensive needs are no secret, and the Devils’ surplus of young blueliners gives them flexibility that many other clubs simply don’t have.
Crushing the Offer
If the Devils truly want to blow the Montreal offer out of the water, general manager Sunny Mehta has levers to pull that the Canadiens perhaps can’t match.
Simon Nemec, the former second-overall pick, represents a higher pedigree than most of the pieces Montreal put on the table. Despite the typical growing pains that come with young defensemen, Nemec has shown flashes of high-end playmaking and poise that could translate into a top-pairing NHL role.
For a Leafs team looking to bolster its back end while potentially entering a more competitive window, Nemec carries more immediate cachet than Zharovsky or the unnamed secondary prospect in the original framework.
Alternatively, dangling Dawson Mercer—a proven NHL contributor with scoring touch and two-way reliability—would represent a significant upgrade in the “known commodity” department.
Mercer’s established production at the NHL level could appeal to Toronto in ways a raw prospect might not, especially if the Leafs are prioritizing players who can help sooner rather than later.
And we haven’t even discussed the possibilty of Dougie Hamilton—whose brother now works in the Toronto organization, by the way.
Either player, when combined with another solid prospect and those two first-round selections, would likely force Toronto’s hand. It’s the difference between a strong offer and one that becomes very difficult to turn down.
The Big Picture
Of course, any discussion about trading away assets like Nemec or Mercer comes with real trade-offs.
The Devils are built around a young, dynamic core and have invested heavily in their defensive pipeline. Moving a top prospect means betting that the return—in this case, a big-bodied, cost-controlled winger like Knies—accelerates their contention timeline enough to justify the cost.
Knies wouldn’t just be a rental or a depth add; he’d slot in as a potential long-term complement to Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, bringing the net-front presence and physical edge that have sometimes been missing.
For a franchise that has flirted with the playoff bubble, the idea of adding that kind of piece without gutting the entire future is appealing.
Toronto, for their part, holds the cards. With new voices in management and Knies locked in on a team-friendly deal, they don’t have to move him unless the return is overwhelming. But the market has now been set, and New Jersey sits in an enviable position to meet or exceed it.
Whether this remains idle speculation or turns into real conversations will depend on how aggressively Mehta wants to push.
One thing is clear, however. When it comes to assembling a competitive offer for Knies, the Devils have the depth and the talent to play in the big leagues of the trade market.
