Matthew Knies is now worth more than Auston Matthews to at least one NHL team
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
If the Maple Leafs wanted to know who their top trade piece is, you'd have one team pointing to Matthew Knies who was willing to pay a handsome fee for his services.
With Toronto heading smack-dab into a bunch of organizational and roster changes, it seems like every name on the team is subject to trade rumours. Morgan Rielly is a name we expect to be dealt, but we also heard that even an Auston Matthews trade isn't completely out of the question.
Add in a bunch of other players and even dangling their first overall pick and suddenly they have a shot at actually turning those corporate promises into a genuine reality.
Matthew Knies trade rumours resurface as Maple Leafs offseason plan starts coming into focus
But one name who actually got a lot of attention this season at the trade deadline is forward Matthew Knies. For good reason too, as the 23-year old had a career year with 66 points in 79 games while also becoming a much better overall player; adding playmaking and better defence as the season went on.
He was rumoured to have been pursued by the Montreal Canadiens though that was shut down quickly, and the Chicago Blackhawks are a team who have been in constant pursuit of him for months and according to analyst Chris Johnston - one team values him more than Auston Matthews:
I had someone say to me...they would give up more for [Matthew] Knies than they would [Auston] Matthews.
This is in addition to news that an unidentified team reportedly offered six pieces in exchange for Knies however the Maple Leafs refused to budge:
Knies over Matthews? Why NHL teams aren't crazy to want the former over the latter
You can tell the Maple Leafs valued Knies highly, and even Brad Treliving was smart enough to know what piece he had and decided against dealing him away.
But to hear that potentially more teams value Knies over Matthews is a really rough situation. On one hand, you could legitimately get four or five pieces akin to the Quinn Hughes deal and set yourself up for years.
Though you're also losing one of the most unique, exciting, and potentially dominant players in the entire league. His mix of speed, power, scoring, defence, and leadership is nothing to ignore and he has future captain material written all over him.
Plus, you have to look at Matthews over the past two seasons. He's a shadow of his past self offensively, just went through an MCL surgery and missed a total of 37 games since 2024-25. As good as he is, he's a bit of a glass cannon and one wrong hit or turn could be his downfall.
We haven't even seen what Knies can accomplish in his prime, especially if he stays healthy and with Matthews firmly in his prime but injured, frustrated, and nowhere near where he needs to be - it's clear who teams would rather have.
Matthew Knies went from relative unknown to fan favourite in just a couple of years and apparently he's turned into a very attractive piece for the rest of the NHL.
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A one-for-one trade with Vancouver sends Morgan Rielly home and fixes the Maple Leafs' biggest problem
A one-for-one trade with Vancouver sends Morgan Rielly home and fixes the Maple Leafs' biggest problem