The Toronto Maple Leafs have been considering a trade of Matthew Knies out of town for a long time.
It’s always felt a little unusual, but it’s clear that his contract appeals greatly to other teams.
And on the eve of the season, Knies is involved in trade talks again.
Reports have stated that Knies could be part of Toronto’s apparent pursuit of Kirill Marchenko, a winger from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The chatter, right before the Maple Leafs open the season Tuesday night, is fascinating — and it would make for an unusual ending for Knies in Toronto, if a trade goes through.
Matthew Knies Contract
Knies has one of the most team-friendly contracts for a first-line, star forward in the NHL.
He’s entering year two of a six-year deal that pays him $7.75 million per year.
He won’t be a free agent until the 2031 offseason.
Knies is still just 23 years old, and he’s a physical player and talented scorer who can play both wings. He stands at 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds and seems ready to continue to make an impact in the NHL for a long time.
His contract certainly looks like a bargain relative to some recent wingers of his generation.
Matthew Knies Stats
The Maple Leafs took Knies in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and it’s worked out as well as they could’ve hoped.
Knies has increased his point total in each of his four NHL seasons.
In 2025-26, he went for 23 goals and 43 assists for 66 points in 79 games.
Knies also had 152 hits last season, along with 32 blocks shots.
He played a career-high 18:48 of ice time per game.
The one negative on the Knies stat sheet was a negative-30 in plus-minus — but this was the first time he was negative in his career in that stat, and it may have owed to the overall Maple Leafs struggles.
Why Would Maple Leafs Trade Matthew Knies?
It’s clear that other teams have desired Knies for a while, in large part because he’s a talented young player already on an affordable long-term contract.
Toronto simply must not love his fit in their roster, because this is now two front-office regimes considering trading him away.
Some players simply become entrenched as a trade chip until a deal finally goes through.
The new decision makers weren’t even in Toronto when the Knies rumors started, but somehow they carried over and could still get finished as a roster-altering deal.
Knies has the potential for a long and successful NHL career, but for whatever reason, he has never seemed all that likely to last in Toronto. The Maple Leafs seem to simply want someone else, and they don’t want to let his trade value go to waste.
Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies Contract Makes Valuable Trade Chip