Overview
- Reporting this week indicates the Maple Leafs are doing due diligence and openly listening to trade offers for Matthew Knies with no deal yet announced.
- Insiders say Toronto’s asking price is steep and would likely require a top-pairing defenseman plus a first-round pick and an additional player.
- Knies is under a long-term contract at $7.75 million a year with five seasons remaining, he lacks a no-trade clause, and he played through a knee issue last season.
- Several teams have been linked as potential suitors, with New Jersey often named and speculative trade frameworks proposing packages that could include Dougie Hamilton, a 2026 first-round pick, or picks in the 10th–12th range.
- Using Knies would let the Leafs convert a power forward into immediate blue-line help or more high draft picks, but any trade must clear cap constraints and balance Knies’ injury risk against his strong shot-quality metrics.