The Montreal Canadiens apparently had a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matthew Knies and Kent Hughes was willing to give up a lot.
According to multiple reports in the last few days, it was indeed a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that was aborted at the trade deadline because it was submitted to the league a minute after the deadline. Both Elliotte Friedman and David Pagnotta reported what the Montreal Canadiens had dangled to get Toronto to agree to let go of Matthew Knies: Alexander Zharovsky, two first-round picks, and another prospect.
The fact that Kent Hughes was willing to let go of all those assets to get a big hulking forward just goes to show how aware the Canadiens are of their own need for not only physicality, but skilled physicality.
At the end of the season’s media availability, when asked if that mystery deal could still be revisited this summer, the GM said it would depend on the other team. Given the fact that Hughes’ interlocutor, Brad Treliving, has been fired since, chances are that the deal is off the table.
What is probably still on the table, however, is the package the Canadiens were willing to move. Clearly, Alexander Zharovsky’s value on the trade market is very high, and many teams feel like he should have been a first-round pick. This is what the Canadiens thought all along, since they’ve confirmed in the past that if they hadn’t traded their two first-round picks in the Noah Dobson deal, they would have drafted the Russian there.
The willingness to move such a highly rated asset also indicates where the Canadiens are in the rebuild, and they’ve confirmed it on Monday: they are willing to pay a premium to fill the holes they need to fill to become contenders. They’re no longer in the asset’s accumulation stage; their window is opening, as confirmed by the team’s run to the third round series. They can think about winning and go shopping with that in mind.
It shouldn’t be all that surprising, since they did trade away two first-round picks last year, but they were accompanied by Emil Heineman, and, with all due respect to him, Zharovsky more than likely has a higher ceiling. If the Canadiens keep on playing as they are, chances are those first-round picks will be late first-round picks, but still.
As for the other prospect that was part of the package, it was believed it wasn’t Michael Hage or David Reinbacher, probably because Zharovsky is a blue-chip prospect, and Montreal has a lot of other prospects in the cupboard. Adam Engstrom can be seen as one of those. Bryce Pickford did well in the WHL and could also intrigue some teams.
Even if the Knies deal is now dead in the water, the reported package gives us an idea of what the Canadiens might be willing to move to acquire, for instance, a second-line center. It’s also interesting to note that Treliving was willing to do that deal with a divisional rival, just as Hughes was. For those who feel like Steve Yzerman wouldn’t be willing to entertain the idea of trading Dylan Larkin to a divisional rival, it’s worth remembering that he did just that when he sent Jonathan Drouin to Montreal for Mikhail Sergachev back in 2017.
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