The Toronto Maple Leafs are having an abysmal season, and that's leading to trade speculation. Wild rumors are swirling, but the Leafs' future hinges on keeping their young stars. Trading Matthew Knies would be a mistake.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been going through one of their worst seasons in recent memory.
Currently on an eight-game winless streak, the team is now in last place in the Atlantic Division and on pace to finish with just 82 points — their lowest in an 82-game season since 2015-16 when they were the worst team in the NHL. Things are getting so bad that we're starting to hear some bold ideas being floated about trading one of Toronto's best players.
Let's be clear: the Maple Leafs should not be trading star center Auston Matthews or star right winger William Nylander.
Sorry, there's no justification for moving two of the best players in team history, right when they're in their prime. Matthews and Nylander have to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. So let's forget that talk.
But the other thing we've heard lately is the suggestion that left winger Matthew Knies could be dealt. Sportsnet had multiple reports speculating about Knies' future with Toronto, with Nick Kypreos reporting that several teams had been interested in the 23-year-old at last Friday's trade deadline.
And to that, we say again – nope.
The Leafs should be keeping Knies for the long haul. He's being paid like a foundational player. And with 51 points in 62 games this year, Knies is on pace to beat his current career high of 58 points in 78 games last season. And he's doing that during a subpar season by his standards due to a lingering injury.
The best part? He's just scratching the surface of his potential, and at his age, he would certainly fit in with whatever rebuilding plan the Leafs have for the future.
When he's on his game, Knies is one of the premier power forwards in the NHL. He plays in all situations. He's nowhere near the prime of his career. Add it all up, and we're flabbergasted that trading Knies is even a topic of discussion.
The Leafs shouldn't want to trade a player who wants to be here, plays a robust physical game and already gives them 18:45 of ice time per game.
Knies checks all the boxes.
And because he's so young, the best days of Knies' career are still to come. To those who believe it would be best for the Maple Leafs to trade him for draft picks and prospects, it would be the wrong approach. You don't find players like Knies in every draft. He's a unicorn.
Also, does Leafs GM Brad Treliving want to be known as the guy who dealt away Mitch Marner and Knies?
Now, we're not here to tell you the Maple Leafs shouldn't rebuild. Or that they shouldn't stock the cupboards with picks and prospects. They probably should. But they should also build around a core that now consists of Matthews, Nylander and Knies.
The Leafs had to suffer a long time to get their hands on the enormous talents of Matthews, Nylander and Knies. One season should not erase that.
So, Knies shouldn't lose too much sleep over these reports. No player is completely untouchable. But when it comes to Knies, he is as close to that designation as possible.
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