Matthew Knies gives the Toronto Maple Leafs front office a piece of his mind

Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies has quite a lot to say about being traded away to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kirill Marchenko.

Matthew Knies getting traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets came as a major shock to many Leafs fans, as some felt as though he would be part of the team's future.

However, after a full season of trade rumors, the new front office went back on its promise and decided to give up on Knies anyway, as Marchenko was a player they could not refuse.

Now, in a new interview with NHL Media, Knies is explaining how he really feels about what went down, and whether or not he holds any ill will.

As it turns out, Knies very much wanted to stay in Toronto. Furthermore, he feels as though what happened to him could have happened to anyone.

I felt like it could happen to anyone, really. I think in Toronto, they needed some turnover and needed to make some changes, and I was a part of that. It came as a bit of a shock.

I was obviously upset to leave those guys. I was with them for three years, so it sucks to leave that group.

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Clearly, Knies is upset with how things went down, even if he was able to manage two goals and an assist in his first game with the Blue Jackets.

Will the Maple Leafs regret this deal?

At this time, it is simply too early to tell whether or not the Maple Leafs are going to regret doing this trade. Ultimately, Marchenko and Knies have not been given enough sample size.

However, there is no doubt that the vibes are a bit off with Knies gone. He was integral to the Leafs over the past three seasons, and now he is in another country.

Meanwhile, Marchenko is a wait-and-see type of player for the Leafs, as he gets accustomed to playing on the top line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic.

In the end, it's the results that will matter. It could take a few years before the Leafs truly know whether or not they got rinsed on this trade.

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