Who’s Really In on Matthew Knies? A Look at 5 Serious Contenders

It wasn’t just the Montreal Canadiens that showed interest in Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. According to a report by Elliotte Friedman, at least five teams kicked tires on a trade, even though nothing materialized.

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Friedman wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts column:

“Teams that showed serious interest in Matthew Knies included Anaheim, Chicago, Montreal, New Jersey and Utah. Everyone has denied that the Canadiens went far down the road, but … we’ll see. There were some teams who didn’t believe the Maple Leafs were serious about it, but now recognize the possibility.”

As for why it might make sense for each team and where their motivation to add the player would have come from, let’s take a look.

Anaheim Ducks

As an up-and-coming club already in playoff position, the Ducks are building a competitive core with young talent set to be strong for a long time. A new coach, and push into contention, and a nucleus of strong centers, Knies would have fit perfectly as a big, skilled winger to complement their core. The idea would have been to accelerate their push into serious contention, rather than just be a team to get in this season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Not yet a playoff team, GM Kyle Davidson continues to look for ammunition to make the team stronger and bring in pieces for Connor Bedard. Rebuilding but with a boatload of young assets and high-end prospects, Chicago sees Knies as a ready-now impact player to bridge their rebuild to contention.

They’ve shown interest in similar big swings before, and he’d be a huge addition to accelerate their timeline without derailing long-term plans.

Montreal Canadiens

Perhaps one of the best young teams in the NHL and also among the closest to being Cup contenders, with a strong young core (including Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and other emerging talents), the Habs are positioning themselves to cement themselves as a routine playoff team.

Knies would provide size, scoring touch, and physical edge to their forward group—rumors suggest they explored more than just Knies and that Kent Hughes is active on the trade market. With his aggressive approach to adding high-character pieces, it makes sense that Knies was on his radar.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils feel like one of those teams that might have wanted a ticket to the Knies’ party, but were likely not the party’s main attraction. They could stand to add an impact winger to pair with stars like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier for more top-six depth and scoring punch, but this could have been a hockey trade, not a simple addition without subtraction.

Knies’ combination of skill, size, and physical play makes him an ideal fit to elevate their offense. The Devils are in the bottom five in goals scored this season.

Utah Mammoth

As another up-and-coming team in playoff position and looking to make a splash up front (they added pieces like MacKenzie Weegar at the deadline), Utah could use Knies as a top-six difference-maker. This is a team that is still new to their market, and making a big addition would have been huge for that franchise.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Laine Trade? Matthews Surgery, and Pucks