With the Toronto Maple Leafs’ season having crossed the point of no return, it became clear even before the trade deadline arrived that the Leafs were, unfortunately, meant to be sellers for the first time in several seasons. Consequently, the front office got busy, but a shocking trade that did not come to fruition was that with the Montreal Canadiens for Matthew Knies.
As unbelievable as such a development sounds, an insider believes that Kent Hughes and Brad Treliving were involved in trade discussions.
Matthew Knies Trade Rumors Surface as Nick Kypreos Links Maple Leafs and Canadiens
Overall, Treliving was at the receiving end of considerable backlash over questionable trade decisions. Arguably, the Leafs were able to secure enough value in return for Nicolas Roy, but the returns for Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton may have fallen short of the expectations of many.
The fact that Laughton already has two goals in the two games he has played with the Los Angeles Kings can also weigh heavily on the Leafs community, prompting many to wonder whether Laughton’s dwindling offensive output in Toronto may have been due to coaching issues.
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As the Leafs grapple with a season from hell, another shocking rumor has come to light. Nick Kypreos has suggested that the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens may have been involved in trade talks about Knies. At the get-go, this does not make any sense for the Leafs; Knies is a franchise cornerstone who could develop into a core Maple Leafs player around whom the team can be built in the future.
Moreover, the 23-year-old winger is in the first year of his six-year contract, carrying a $7.75 million cap hit. For a player of Knies’ caliber and in the backdrop of a rising salary cap situation in the NHL, it is unclear why Treliving would arm a divisional rival with the standout winger.
Of course, many commentators failed to see why such a trade, regardless of the returns, would make sense.
“So we didn’t get proper value on McMann or Laughton and didn’t trade OEL at all because Treliving spent all day trying to trade Matthew Knies for David Reinbacher,” podcaster John Cullen shared on his social media, taking a dig at the Leafs management.
“Was Matthew Knies the player? I don’t doubt Kypreos’s sources, but let’s just say I find that particular. It should be the worst nightmare to trade a player with that much fire to a direct rival. There are reasons why TOR and MTL have rarely danced together…,” Anthony Marcotte expressed doubts about an intra-division trade on X.
“This is the shit that ruins your franchise,” Leafs Update shared on social media in the wake of Kypreos’ Knies trade speculation.
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“I’m just gonna say it, the conversation was about Brandon Carlo, not Matthew Knies. People trying to act like Toronto would move Knies within the division for anything less than a King’s ransom are either insane or idiotic,” opined a Maple Leafs journalist on their social media handle. They noted that Toronto has no business dealing away one of their top talents to the Habs, and even if it did, the returns are likely to be extravagant.
The trade deadline has passed, and Knies is still very much a part of the Leafs roster. But the mere possibility of his trade to the Canadiens has sent shockwaves through the community.
