There have been several reports that have recently surfaced indicating that the Toronto Maple Leafs were allegedly close to moving forward Matthew Knies to a historic rival at the NHL Trade Deadline, but that the deal fell through.
Allegedly, Knies was going to be packaged to the Montreal Canadiens in a trade that would have landed them top prospect Alexander Zharovsky, another top prospect, and two first-round picks in return. Reportedly, the deal fell through because the trade information was submitted after the 3:00 p.m. ET deadline had passed, adding a layer of embarrassment to what was a dismal campaign for the Leafs.
That deal would have been executed by now-former Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving who was relieved of his duties on March 30 and was eventually replaced by former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka. But according to a new report, Knies was also being targeted by another divisional rival of the Maple Leafs.
Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Matthew Knies Was Allegedly Targeted By The Sabres
According to NHL Insider Chris Johnston, the Buffalo Sabres, who also play in the Atlantic Division with the Maple Leafs, were interested in acquiring Knies from Toronto.
The Sabres had a transformational season that ultimately resulted in them breaking what was the NHL’s longest active postseason drought; they hadn’t played beyond the regular season since the 2010-11 season.
Buffalo would defeat the divisional rival Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal before eventually falling to the Montreal Canadiens (another divisional opponent) in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, a hard-fought seven game series.
With Knies on board, could they have lasted another round in the postseason?
Matthew Knies Said He Had No Interest In Leaving Maple Leafs
When asked about his name being embroiled in trade rumors, Knies responded that he had no interested in departing the only NHL club he’s played for so far in his young NHL career.
“I wouldn’t want to look at it as a compliment, I’d look at it as a crappy thing,” Knies said. “I don’t want to leave this group of guys… it doesn’t really matter what it was. I wouldn’t want to leave here.”
Meanwhile, former NHL defenseman Chris Pronger, who reportedly interviewed for a high-ranking position in the Maple Leafs front office, said that he didn’t believe that Toronto would have gotten enough in return for Knies had they in fact sent him to the Canadiens.
“I personally don’t think they were getting enough,” Pronger said. “He had a down year, but there’s a lot of meat left on the bone with him. Can you develop him and get him to the level people foresaw two years ago? Can he be a prototypical power forward? Can he be a Tom Wilson, so to speak, a player of that level of notoriety with physical presence and ability to provide offence in a role that very few players can play in this league nowadays.”
Selected in the second round (57th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Knies scored 23 goals with a career-high 43 assists this past season.
Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies Linked To Another Divisional Rival