Are The Leafs Just Fishing On Knies? 

The Toronto Maple Leafs will not only be at the center of the NHL Draft on Friday with the first overall pick, but it is expected that GM John Chayka will continue to be in the mix in the trade market. The low-hanging fruit is that the Leafs will move on from veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly, but other names such as Brandon Carlo and Anthony Stolarz could potentially be on the move. 

The name most popular in recent days is Matthew Knies, but there is a growing suspicion that Chayka is not serious about trading the 23-year-old winger unless he gets overpaid and offered a deal he cannot refuse. That would likely entail a package including a comparably aged center or defenseman capable of playing behind Auston Matthews and in the Leafs top four on the blueline, as well as a first-round pick, and a prospect. 

For example, teams that have been rumored to be interested in the power forward include the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, and Chicago Blackhawks. The Canadiens reported package prior to the trade deadline included Russian prospect Alexander Zharovsky, 22-year-old blueliner Adam Engstrom and multiple draft picks, but that deal would be consistent with the Leafs going into a rebuild, and that direction is clearly not where Chayka is going. Montreal would likely have to include prized prospect Michael Hage as a starting point. 

The Sabres have a young center in 20-year-old Konsta Helenius, who scored a point per game in his second AHL season with Rochester and scored two goals against the Habs in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Prospects like 2025 first-rounder Radim Mrtka would also be attractive. 

Chicago is looking for a power winger to play with Connor Bedard, and they have a ton of young prospects, as well as the fourth overall pick in the draft. The pick would have to be part of the deal, which would allow the Leafs to take one of the top two defensemen in the draft (San Jose is expected to take a blueliner with the second overall selection), but would also have to include one of the Hawks’ top youngsters,  like former second overall pick Artyom Levshunov or 2025 third overall pick Anton Frondell. 

All these potential deals may seem unreasonable from an outside perspective, but the Leafs have the advantage of Knies being locked up for another five seasons at a $7.75 million AAV in a league where Jason Robertson could make double that amount on his new contract. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Chayka would have no issue keeping Knies in Blue and White, which would signal that this is a fishing expedition, but sometimes those fishing expeditions can catch a big one. Anything less than a home run should be a no-go for Toronto.