John Chayka admitted he has been open to offers for Matthew Knies but refused to name the price, though insiders believe it may cost teams a top-10 pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not going to be strangers to making deals this offseason, as they already traded Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit and are likely going to find one for Morgan Rielly but there may be even a few others who head out the door; we really don't know.
But one name who has popped up a lot recently is Matthew Knies, and while it seems a little bit insane to trade a player of his calibre, there is a chance that he could bring in that #1 defenceman Toronto has been searching for, while also adding some pretty valuable assets including a pick in this round's draft.
John Chayka admits he is listen to offers for Matthew Knies but hasn't given any team a proper price yet
Though there's been nothing concrete and everything is hearsay, the speculation has certainly ramped up over the past 48 hours and now it seems like the cat is fully out of the bag.
Maple Leafs GM John Chayka confirmed that he has indeed been entertaining offers for Knies with several teams obviously interested in the young power forward, however the GM stopped short of naming the price it would take for teams to acquire him:
Darren Dreger on OverDrive said John Chayka has had talks with multiple teams around Matthew Knies, but hasn't gave [sic] a price to organizations.
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Though Dreger also noted that those around Knies and his camp aren't getting too worried about the noise and continue to be focused on the season ahead:
People close to him say he doesn't seem to be rattled about his name being in trade talks.
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Chayka shouldn't ask for anything less than an absolute haul for Knies because anything less is sure to bring a fan backlash that won't go away anytime soon.
Insiders predict that Toronto is asking for a top-10 pick in exchange for Knies
However that hasn't stopped NHL insiders from making their own proposals and predictions on the matter.
The Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli is under the impression that the Maple Leafs are going to be quite serious with a Knies package and that they could be looking for a top-10 pick in this year's draft:
They are not hanging up the phone with John Chayka in charge, they are entertaining offers. They are willing to talk about Matthew Knies but I have been told that some teams are wondering if they are actually willing to listen to deal or just a fishing expedition so see if they can catch a team that desperate to find a difference maker they cash in.
As the Leafs have dug in on this, my belief is if we're going to see a Matthew Knies transaction, it's going to take a top-10 pick and the Leafs have let teams know they want a top-end pick back.
Well that seems to contradict Dreger's report a bit if the team indeed mentioned they want a pick back but it does echo Nick Kypreos' statement that Toronto wanted a top pick, a #1 D, and a secondary player.
That makes sense given the Maple Leafs are desperate to make some serious changes and trading Knies for a potential future game-changer like Viggo Bjorck, Keaton Verhoeff or Tommy Bleyl on top of a #1 defender and a top-six player is a pretty solid consolation prize.
Plus, what if this is the best we've seen of Knies? If he hovers around 55-60 points and adds a lot of physicality that's great, but the potential to have a superstar on top of bettering your overall lineup is better - we don't know what Knies is capable of or if we already have.
Knies being traded would certainly not make a large part of the fanbase happy, and the package in return has to blow everyone away for them to swallow it. Though if it brings them such a large package and a better chance at winning the Cup - maybe the fans will forgive John Chayka a bit sooner.
Would you trade Matthews Knies if it means the Maple Leafs get two Top-10 picks in the NHL draft?
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