One day ahead of the beginning of the 2026-27 NHL regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets completed a blockbuster trade, sending young winger Matthew Knies to Columbus in exchange for Kirill Marchenko.
There was no secret that the Maple Leafs were looking to make changes after missing the playoffs for the first time in the Auston Matthews era and the first time in a decade. What made last season so disappointing was that they won the Atlantic Division just one season prior.
Kirill Marchenko had come off two breakout seasons and reportedly wasn’t interested in returning to the Blue Jackets after this season. Matthew Knies, on the other hand, loved his time in Toronto; however, trade rumours swirled around him for the better half of seven months. This timing of the deal had come as a shock to Knies, but he was tired of hearing his name in the media.
The Timing of the Trade Shocked Matthew Knies
“Going into training camp, going through all preseason games, the timing of it all, that’s what shocked me,” Knies told reporters Tuesday ahead of his first game against his former team.
“It just came up over and over and the trade felt like it was something they needed to do. I wish I could have experienced my time there a little bit longer,” Knies said of the Maple Leafs.
Knies was a second-round pick during the 2021 draft. He was first called up to the Maple Leafs at the end of the 2023-24 regular season and played throughout their postseason run. Knies then spent the next three seasons on the Maple Leafs’ top line alongside captain Auston Matthews, where the duo had seen lots of success, but struggled with the departure of Mitch Marner.
While many were upset with the departure of Knies, the Maple Leafs during the early portion of the season have very clearly won the trade. Marchenko has looked like a force, producing 14 points in 13 games, including six goals, while Knies has struggled, scoring only four points, with two of those being goals.
Many hope Knies will be able to find a new gear in Columbus and get back on the right foot. The adjustment has proven to be difficult, and Blue Jackets head coach Rick Bowness has taken notice as he attempts to change his game to Columbus’ style.
Knies Struggles to Find Footing in Columbus
“We’re doing a couple of different things that Toronto did, and sometimes I see him lapsing into that,” Bowness said. “So we have to help him; that’s our job as coaches, to help them through that, and then we’ll have a better feel. But I’ve always been a fan of his. So I think there’s more of his upside.”
“A lot of love,” Knies said of the Leafs fanbase. “I wish them the best. I love those guys on that side. I care a lot about those guys. But I’ve got to turn the page now and focus on the guys here and focus on winning, focus on separating myself from them.”
Knies will always be a part of Leafs nation; however, it was time for a new chapter of his career, and he does not fit what the Maple Leafs lacked in the top-six heading into the season.
Former Maple Leafs Star Off to Concerning Start After Leaving Toronto