Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Hours after trading away Nicolas Roy, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made calls on their most valuable asset, Matthew Knies, according to Elliote Friedman.
In a stunning report coming ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, Elliotte Friedman has dropped a bombshell report that indicates that while the Leafs are not making their key veteran stars available, including Auston Matthews, William Nylander, & John Tavares, Matthew Knies could be another question.
Friedman makes sure to caution that Toronto is only listening on Knies, not ready to make a deal there, but they are hearing out trade proposals, but it would take a legitimately major offer to move Knies.
Toronto is all about adding assets. Young players, prospects, picks. You name it, they want to hear about it. There aren’t a ton in the system, so they want to accumulate. Then, they can start figuring out their future – maybe use what they get to chase bigger fish.
The chances of Auston Matthews getting traded now are equal to John Blutarsky’s grade-point average. William Nylander and John Tavares aren’t going anywhere. I heard some Matthew Knies, and that, to me, is the Maple Leafs seeing if there’s a massive offer they can’t turn down. That is the only way I see it happening.
What would Toronto receive for Matthew Knies?
The 23-year-old is already a core piece of the Leafs roster, this season having 16 goals and 50 points in 56 games with Toronto, solidifying himself as an essential part of the Leafs top-six.
Knies, in the first year of a six-year contract at $7.75M annually, is locked up at what could be a bargain price with a rising cap, a move for Knies having a clear allure in his price, but a contract Toronto won’t want to give up that easy for the fact that a player like Knies will only cost more in the coming years.
For the Leafs, a team on the outside of the playoff picture as it stands, prospects and picks are a clear focus for Toronto, yet moving their star youngster in Knies is a challenging way to go about it.
It would mean for Toronto, they would want young players with the same potential as Knies, and some high picks to sweeten the deal. That would likely mean a current young NHLer, a top prospect, and a first just as a starter.
Matthew Knies being dealt may be wishful thinking for teams, but as Elliotte Friedman reports, it is not out of the realm of possibility, and could open up one of the biggest, and most surprising blockbuster trades in Leafs history.
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Maple Leafs taking calls on Matthew Knies: Only ‘massive’ offer moves star
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