Maple Leafs to acquire surprising new piece in imminent Matthew Knies for Kirill Marchenko trade

Despite the blockbuster trade between Toronto and Columbus centred around Matthew Knies and Kirill Marchenko, one piece added is turning everyone's heads.

The NHL landscape quickly blew up on Monday with the report that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets were in talks that would see Kirill Marchenko headed to the blue and white meanwhile Matthew Knies was headed the other way.

It's a stunning deal that while not confirmed, has set social media ablaze. It would be a severe contrast from what John Chayka said regarding Knies only weeks ago, and it shows how quickly things change for the front office.

Toronto adds yet another goaltender in the Matthew Knies trade

But those two aren't the only ones involved, and while the details are still being worked out, Elliotte Friedman (who broke the news) also added that there is at least one other face coming over from the Blue Jackets - Elvis Merzlikins.

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Again, this deal is not confirmed and the trade is imminent and may even fall through if they can't come to an agreement by 5pm's roster deadline.

Merzlikins, who is currently on the IR with a shoulder issue has been a solid goalie throughout his career but his numbers don't exactly jump out. He has a 108-111-38 record with a 3.22 GAA and .900 SV% for his career - all spent with the Blue Jackets.

Why Toronto added Merzlikins

While this is certainly a move to help the Blue Jackets and their cap crunch, there is a chance that the Maple Leafs are looking to bring him in as reliable insurance once he gets healthy.

There also is a world where the team is sending a goaltender the other way, like Anthony Stolarz. That would help the Blue Jackets have a solid starter and be fairly cost-effective, but that would leave the Maple Leafs short.

They would need to rely on Artur Akhtyamov in order to have a backup for Sergei Bobrovsky unless the team has another goaltender in mind, but it's hard to know where Toronto or John Chayka's priorities lie when it comes to their net right now.

If anything, the Maple Leafs brought in a solid backup to Bobrovsky who is unfortunately dealing with some injury issues. While it's not a good look for Chayka to bring in beleaguered players, with the team in a cap crunch and Marchenko the true asset - you have to compromise at some point.

More details to come.

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