Former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies shared his reaction after hearing the news that the team had traded him.
The Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets reached an agreement on a blockbuster six-player trade on Monday, one that sent the star winger Kirill Marchneko to Toronto, just seconds before official rosters were due to the NHL league office ahead of the 2026-27 season, which begins tonight.
The complete trade saw Knies, Steven Lorentz, Emil Andrae, and a second-round draft pick head from Toronto to Columbus for Marchenko, Miles Wood, and Elvis Merzlikins, with Columbus retaining 18% of Merzlikins’s salary for this season in the final year of his contract, one that has already been placed on LTIR as he is dealing with a long-term injury.
Knies’s name had been in trade rumors for months, but it took until the eve of opening day in the NHL for the Maple Leafs to pull the trigger on trading him, sending him to Columbus in a true blockbuster deal that had the entire hockey world buzzing.
Fans have been curious to know how Knies reacted to the trade, and now we know.
Matthew Knies Reacts to Blockbuster Maple Leafs Trade
In a video posted on the Blue Jackets’ social media, Knies shared his reaction to Columbus GM Don Waddell when asked if he was surprised by the trade.
“Not entirely. I feel like it’s kind of been hanging over my head for a little bit here. But I guess one day before opening day here, I was pretty shocked,” Knies said.
Waddell told Knies that he had been talking to Maple Leafs GM John Chayka about the trade for several weeks before the two teams reached an agreement on the eve of opening night in the NHL.
“I’m excited to join the group. Appreciate it, thank you,” Knies said before hanging up the phone.
Go inside the GM’s office for the moments before and after yesterday’s trade in this episode of Behind the Battle, presented by @PNCBank
Matthew Knies Could be Huge for Columbus
While the Maple Leafs ultimately chose to move on from Knies, mostly because they felt like Marchenko’s game-breaking ability was a tangible upgrade on their roster, Knies could be a huge piece for the Blue Jackets as they try to become contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Now that he’s in Columbus, Knies will likely play alongside star center Adam Fantilli, who just signed a long-term contract extension to play with the Blue Jackets. The two of them could form a very solid one-two punch on Columbus’s top line for many years to come, as both men are locked under contract for the foreseeable future.
While Knies admitted the trade from Toronto shocked him just due to the timing of it all, he also knew his name was in trade rumors for a while before Chayka finally traded him away.
The hope is that this will be a win-win trade for both teams, as those are always the best type of trades. But for now, it remains to be seen how both squads will make out with the new pieces on their respective rosters.
Matthew Knies on Maple Leafs Trading Him: ‘I Was Pretty Shocked’