7 Possible Trade Destinations for Matthew Knies as NHL Rumors Heat Up

One of the most surprising names that came up during the rush to the NHL trade deadline was that of Toronto Maple Leafs young star winger Matthew Knies. Although the Leafs are having a dreadful season and have a lot to consider for the future this offseason, trading a player like Knies seemed like a wild idea given all the other pressing needs they have to address.

And yet, here were teams making trade overtures to Toronto about acquiring Knies and now his name is out there. He's 23 years old, scored 29 goals with 29 assists a year ago and has 18 goals and 39 assists this season. He's a young power forward with skill, two traits that tend to move the needle among NHL GMs everywhere.

Toronto could reignite its offseason by moving Knies, or it could kneecap itself further by doing so. Whether they do it or not, there are some teams that have been rumored already and others that would make a great fit for him, and we're going to dig into them all.

Montréal Canadiens

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The team that helped Matthew Knies' name surface at the trade deadline in the most surprising way was the Montréal Canadiens.

The Leafs and Habs have made trades in the past, of course (most recently in 2018), but one team seemingly lending a hand to the other to make a run at a Stanley Cup? That's the kind of thing that goes back to the really old days when there were only a handful of teams, but if the Leafs sent Knies to the Canadiens in the offseason, it's hard not to think of them as a more formidable Cup contender.

The two teams reportedly talked about the player at the deadline and that's enough smoke in the NHL world for there to be a fire even if the fire is totally not there. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes even teased reporters about working on something big they might circle back on in the offseason.

Landing a player like Knies to play with Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovský, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson would more than qualify as a big move.

Chicago Blackhawks

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How much of the Blackhawks have you watched this season? If you've seen any of their games, you know how awesome Connor Bedard has been. You've probably also noticed that he's almost doing everything on his own and needs more offense around him. Adding Matthew Knies would help to that end.

Whether you put Knies on Bedard's wing or Frank Nazar's wing, it would be a major improvement to what they're working with now. While Tyler Bertuzzi has had a strong season with Bedard, Chicago just needs more, period. Getting a guy like Knies, who can help rush up the wing and use his strength to get to the net, would only be a boost.

Sure, adding him in a trade would cost some of their prospects or picks, but Chicago has amassed so many of them at this point that using some to add a quality player is part of the reason why you accumulate draft picks in the first place. They need quality players to better surround Bedard and get back to the playoffs and this would be one way to do that.

Pittsburgh Penguins

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The last team and person the Maple Leafs probably want to do business with right now is former GM and current Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas. Toronto has fallen in the standings since parting ways with Dubas, and now the former Leafs executive has the Penguins thriving.

Still, Dubas's success in netting picks and prospects over the past few years has done great things for the Penguins, but it also gives him the ammo needed to re-acquire a player like Matthew Knies. Obviously, Dubas likes Knies since he's the guy who drafted and signed him in Toronto. Bringing him into the Penguins lineup to bolster their attack on the wing would be a great fit, be it next to Sidney Crosby or otherwise.

Whether it's Brad Treliving or a new GM handling the Leafs offseason, you'd have to imagine working out a deal with Dubas and running the risk of losing said trade to the old boss would be a quick way to make sure the vibes sink even lower in Toronto.

Seattle Kraken

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The Kraken may or may not be a playoff team this year, but their offseason shopping list should already have a priority to add more goals to it. They worked on that at the deadline by acquiring Bobby McMann from Toronto, but perhaps circling back for Matthew Knies this summer would help out as well.

A lot of how Seattle generates offense is a full-team approach, and that's the more complimentary way to describe it. They lack star power and while they've got some good players, if you're going to go with a pack mentality, making the pack more robust helps. Adding Knies to the Kraken forward group would certainly accomplish that.

Knies' current scoring of 58 points would be best on the Kraken by nearly 10 points on Jordan Eberle's 49. They've got McMann, Eberle, Matty Beniers, Kaapo Kakko, Chandler Stevenson and Jared McCann up front and may or may not have Jaden Schwartz after this season as well. Adding Knies to that group just gives them more to work with and that's really what they need if this is how they're building the roster.

New York Rangers

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So... the Rangers.

They're in need of a lot of help and may be in for more of an exciting offseason than anyone thought if things play out like their nine-shot loss to Ottawa on Monday, the rest of the way.

They need to fix things up in a big way and adding Matthew Knies would help that, but they've also got the kinds of assets to make a much more interesting deal with Toronto.

The Rangers have two first-round picks this year and a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman in Adam Fox, who cannot feel great about things in New York after being snubbed for the Olympic team by his own team's GM and coach.

There's no doubt the Leafs would be interested in a player like Fox, and if that's the impetus for Knies to land on Broadway as part of a blockbuster, it's time for us to cook up a real good "Who Says No" kind of deal, right?

That's not the kind of trade that goes one-for-one, clearly, but one of the Leafs' biggest problems comes from asking Morgan Rielly to do way too much on the blue line and bringing Fox in would address that directly. If it costs Knies to add Fox, they'd have to look into that.

San Jose Sharks

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The Sharks' rise to playoff contender this season has almost solely been built around Macklin Celebrini becoming the next great superstar in the league this season. If the Sharks are going to take steps forward while the rest of their young stars catch up to Celebrini, adding an established young player like Matthew Knies would help.

San Jose has Will Smith and William Eklund catching up and veterans like Tyler Toffoli holding it down, but adding a player like Knies would give them a bit more juice and depth in the top six to expand their attack. The Sharks have picks and prospects, particularly on defense, where the Leafs would love to get better immediately. There's an idea here that can work for both teams.

What's more is that the Sharks' pick and prospect depth is deep enough to make a swing in a trade like this, and it won't do the kind of harm to their pool of players that could hinder the rapid progress they've made this season. This summer will be fascinating for GM Mike Grier. You have to think there's a move like this out there for them to make.

Utah Mammoth

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The Utah Mammoth and GM Bill Armstrong are always on the hunt for help, and adding a power forward from Arizona like Knies to replace one they gave up a year ago (Josh Doan) would be a great move for them.

Utah has a lot of good things going for it, and a return to the playoffs this season will encourage them to build on it. With Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, JJ Peterka, and Nick Schmaltz, they've got a really strong set of forwards. Adding Knies to that group would juice them up even more and allow them to really dig into the Central Division fight with Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota.

Knies' ability on the wing to score and set up linemates, as well as being a presence around the net, would help fill out Utah's top six forward group and give them a superb group to attack opponents. They've got a stockpile of prospects to work with if they want to make a deal and they've been judicious with their picks in other trades to keep their first-rounders. Knies joining the group of Mammoth forwards is a fun enough idea to go out and kick the tires and see what could happen.