MONTRÉAL — The very idea that Matthew Knies might be on the trade block broke the Internet.
OK, we’re exaggerating a tad.
But a photo of No. 23 and a thoughts column titled “Could Leafs be persuaded to move Matthew Knies?” dished by insider Elliotte Friedman and posted on Trade Deadline Eve did trigger a traffic surge that temporarily overwhelmed Sportsnet.ca.
Oh, no! Not our dear Kniesy!
Knies, of course, remains a Toronto Maple Leaf — and one of the few whose best seasons should still lie ahead — after the annual rumour maelstrom that is the NHL trade deadline.
For Knies, the “massive offer they can’t turn down” never materialized, and general manager Brad Treliving only executed three predictable moves as a seller.
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But the notion of Treliving at least entertaining such a blockbuster, of welcoming roster-rocking ideas from trade partners, does hint at the level of dissatisfaction with his own flawed roster construction, for which the GM has already assumed blame.
“I didn’t really look into it too much. I feel like, with this market, everyone’s kind of almost a target,” Knies told reporters in Toronto Monday. “It’s a business. You earn the attention here. But I don’t want to look into it too much, I guess.”
Were Knies to dial up PuckPedia.com, he’d learn that he is the only member of the Maple Leafs core devoid of trade protection. He’d discover that the deal he signed as a restricted free agent — 2025’s life-changing six-year, $46.5-million pact for which Treliving was rightly praised — should age like Benjamin Button against an escalating salary cap. And he’d be reminded that, at 23, he is the second-youngest member (next to rookie Easton Cowan) of a roster that must get younger.
Crazy what a difference a year makes.
At the 2025 trade deadline, you may recall, the Carolina Hurricanes reportedly asked Treliving for a (then unsigned) Knies when the Maple Leafs tried to pry away Mikko Rantanen as their Mitch Marner substitute.
The Canes took Logan Stankoven as a centrepiece of the Rantanen trade to Dallas. Treliving, at the time, viewed Knies as a near-untouchable.
“Matthew is just realizing how big and strong he is, and he’s getting more comfortable,” Treliving said last March, after spurning Knies’s suitors.
“He’s sort of grown right in front of our eyes. So, he’s a big part of our team now (and will) continue to be moving forward. And he’s a unique player. You know, that’s a big, strong man.”
The ground has shifted since. The Leafs aren’t good or going for it. And Treliving’s employment is much less secure.
Knies’s NHL arrival aligned with the Leafs first-round breakthrough in 2023. He’s only known winning.
Now he’s just watched three friends shipped out of town amid a seven-game losing skid.
Forgive the young man if he’s still wrapping his mind around this mess on the ice and the uncertainty off it.
“No one’s happy about it. Everyone’s frustrated. And we want to do better,” Knies said. “We’re not gonna hang our heads low and feel defeated.
“It’s a crappy feeling that we put ourselves in the situation.”
Are the Maple Leafs better without Knies on the books?
Gut reaction screams no.
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But the status quo is untenable, trade nibbles in March can gain bite by June, and no one player should be off limits if a move can improve the roster big picture.
Whether it retools or rebuilds, Toronto will eventually need a couple of legitimate puck-moving defencemen and couple more centremen if it is serious about contending for a championship. (If, say, Treliving’s talks with St. Louis about Robert Thomas involved Knies, would that be surprising?)
If 2025-26 is an anomaly and the Maple Leafs, as Jon Cooper predicts, successfully return to the dance in 2027, they’ll need a bounce-back campaign from their best power forward.
Hampered for months with a knee injury that has him “not 100 per cent” and has taken a noticeable toll on his stride, Knies is now pushing for 20 goals, not 30.
And while his assist total has risen (from 29 to 35) and his positive attitude has maintained, there is no question that his production and defensive results, much like Auston Matthews’s, have been hindered by the loss of Marner.
Knies was a plus-9 as a rookie and a plus-7 as a sophomore. This season, he’s a dash-17.
On Tuesday in Montreal, the winger is expected to return to Matthews’s top line after getting some more sheltered minutes.
“Still feel like I can contribute and help. I’m confident in my abilities that I’m still eligible to be a dominant player and help out,” Knies said.
We agree, especially after a long off-season of recovery.
So do rival executives, though.
Which is why, for those talking trade with the asset-light Maple Leafs, you can’t blame them for bringing up the big guy with the soft hands and the personality built to handle the spotlight.
Outside of Matthews and William Nylander — who both hold full no-move clauses — who would you ask for?
“It’s difficult. I feel like I haven’t been in a situation like this,” Knies admitted.
“You look around this room and see the talent, the skill base we have here. I think we’ll be back and stronger than ever.”
Maple Leafs projected lineup Tuesday in Montreal:
Knies – Matthews – Domi
Maccelli – Tavares – Nylander
Cowan – Quillan – Robertson
Joshua – Lorentz – Järnkrok
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Ekman-Larsson
Benoit – Stecher
Woll
Stolarz
