It’s been an offseason of change for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have not only traded goaltender Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers but also acquired Darren Raddysh from the divisional rival Tampa Bay Lighnting along with the selection of Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Maple Leafs have also traded defenseman Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues.
In the meantime, there remains plenty of speculation regarding the future of Matthew Knies, once seen as a foundational building block under former general manager Brad Treliving, with the club. He’s been heavily involved in trade rumors and was even reportedly going to be on the move to the rival Montreal Canadiens at the NHL Trade Deadline in March, but the deal was allegedly nixed because of late paperwork.
Regardless, Knies continues to be the focus of trade rumors under new GM John Chayka, and according to a new report from a notable Maple Leafs Insider, those rumors aren’t going away any time soon.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Will Reportedly Be Relentless In Their Pursuit Of Trading Matthew Knies
According to a new report from Maple Leafs Insider Nick Kypreos, the Maple Leafs Insider Nick Kypreos, the club “won’t stop” in their pursuit of getting a deal done for Knies.
Meanwhile, Chayka has been adamant that his job is to improve the roster, and that nothing is officially off the table.
“The idea that we’re going to improve the roster by moving a top young player … anything’s possible, I guess it’s not probable,” he said. “No doubt, I think (the speculation) makes for good writing and good interest for people, but as we think about our team, and how we improve, that’s a tough bar to hurdle… As general manager, we’re going to evaluate everything, but that’s the job.”
That doesn’t mean they don’t value what Knies brings to the team, however.
“Honestly, I think Matthew Knies is like a really unique player. His blend of size and skating and skill is really hard to find,” Chayka said of Knies.
“I’m not aware of what happened at the deadline or what previous regimes thought. I think Mats (Sundin) and I are going to go through and evaluate the roster and make some decisions. But ultimately, I think if you’re making a decision, you’re trying to get better. You’d be really hard-pressed to do better than Matthew Knies.”
Matthew Knies Does Not Want To Be Traded From The Leafs
Knies, who is entering the second season of a six-year contract, said that while he understands that trades are part of the business, sometimes they happen – but he doesn’t want to depart Toronto.
“I look at it that I committed to this team for six years and I hope that commitment stays vice versa,” Knies said in early April. “It’s something out of my control. So if it happens, it’s understandable. “But I want to be here. That’s how I look at it.”
Knies’ current contract has a $7.75 million cap hit.
NHL Insider Gives Major Update On Matthew Knies’ Future With Maple Leafs