As the rival Montreal Canadiens battle it out with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, Leafs Nation has its mind on what offseason moves the Toronto Maple Leafs have in store.
After a sub-par regular season resulted in a draft lottery win for the Leafs, the team has a several possible directions to take for the future. While they could opt to keep their core together and see how it fares with the injection of consensus No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, it is also possible that the Leafs could part ways with key players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly and even 23-year-old power forward Matthew Knies.
Focusing on Knies specifically, he is a player who could make sense to pair alongside McKenna in a Leafs rebuild, but he is also a player who could fetch the Leafs a decent amount on the trade market. And keep in mind, it was reported earlier in the season by former NHLer and current Sportsnet NHL analyst Nick Kypreos, that the Leafs floated the idea of trading Knies at the 2026 trade deadline. So with the offseason looming, will the Leafs choose to trade Knies, and if so, what could they seek in return? We are going to look at three potential Knies trade packages with three separate teams that the Leafs may choose to seek out if they do indeed deal Knies.
Let’s get started.
Montreal Canadiens
Starting with the Leafs’ arch rival and a team that was reported by Kypreos to be interested in Knies at the deadline, the Canadiens, if they fail to win the Cup this year, may look to make a strong young addition to their team heading into next season. Knies would be an ideal option for the Habs, and Montreal fans would surely love to tear away elite talent from Toronto.
The Canadiens can’t offer 2026 lottery picks to the Leafs, given their contender status, but one player that could sway the Leafs to deal Knies to Montreal would be Habs prospect Michael Hage. The 20-year-old centre was the 21st pick in the 2024 draft, and has been elite at the college level, putting up 52 points in 39 games, with a plus-minus rating of plus-15 for the University of Michigan. If those numbers translate to the NHL, Hage would be a great piece to have alongside McKenna.
To round out the deal, the Canadiens could add 24-year-old defenceman Kaiden Guhle and their first-round pick in the 2026 draft. The Leafs can use all the picks they can get if they opt for a rebuild, and adding Guhle would provide young depth on the team’s back end. It may sting to deal Knies to the Canadiens, but it could be a solid option if the team is looking for young talent.
Chicago Blackhawks
The second team that Kypreos cited as being interested in Knies at the deadline was the Blackhawks. Unlike the Canadiens, Chicago is in a rebuilding stage at the moment, and though they have some decent supporting pieces in Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi, the team lacks a really strong young stud to pair alongside 20-year-old phenom Connor Bedard. Knies could be that young piece.
Any Knies deal with the Blackhawks would have to include Chicago’s No. 4 pick in the 2026 NHL draft. With this pick, the Leafs could select a young player like right winger Ivar Stenberg or defenceman Chase Reid to add to a young core with McKenna. This would be extremely attractive to any team looking to start fresh, and if that’s what the Leafs choose to do, two top lottery picks would be the ideal way to get the rebuild started.
In addition to the No. 4 selection, the Leafs could also look to get an additional young player in the deal, and one that makes sense is 21-year-old defenceman Sam Rinzel. Rinzel was the 25th pick in 2022 and showed some promise at the NHL level this past season, putting up 14 points in 54 games with Chicago, and an additional 14 points in 23 games for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. Adding Rinzel would give the Leafs a young depth D-man to rebuild with, and in return for Rinzel and the fourth pick, the Blackhawks would get a very solid and proven piece for their own rebuild. It all just depends on whether Chicago is willing to give up the No. 4 pick.
Anaheim Ducks
This final team was not reported to be interested in Knies at the deadline, but the Ducks could be a great Knies landing spot for silly reasons, as the Canadiens. The Ducks are one of the younger teams in the league, yet they have seen their rebuild finally begin to bear fruit as the team made it to the second round in this year’s playoffs. With this in mind, perhaps the Ducks could use the services of a proven young winger in Knies to further strengthen and bolster their forward lines.
Anaheim does not have a first-round pick in the upcoming draft, so the best they would be able to offer the Leafs is a deal consisting of young prospects, 2026 late-round picks and future draft capital. Some players that would make sense from the Ducks in a Knies trade are young defencemen Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. The 22-year-old Canadian Zellweger would be a welcome addition in Toronto and showed flashes of elite play at times this past season, contributing 22 points in 76 games with the Ducks. Mintyukov, born in the same year as Zellweger, also put up 22 points last season, and adding him and Zellweger would give the Leafs an excellent set of prospects to build their defensive corps with.
This deal would really come down to how much Anaheim is willing to part with. If they offer both Zellweger and Mintyukov for Knies, then it would really be a no-brainer for the Leafs. But parting with two solid young defenders is tough, even for a team like the Ducks, who are on the cusp of being Cup contenders, so it would all depend on how bad the Ducks want Knies.
