Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies were recently included on an off-season trade board by The Athletic. Here's why the Toronto Maple Leafs duo continue to be labelled as NHL trade candidates.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly and left winger Matthew Knies have been linked to trade rumors for quite some time now.
The Toronto Maple Leafs duo were recently included in an off-season trade board by The Athletic's Chris Johnston. In this trade board, Rielly was listed at No. 5, while Knies was slotted in at No. 12.
It's true, Rielly has a no-move clause on his contract, and Knies is one of the young stars who should help propel the Maple Leafs back into contention after a fallen season this past campaign. However, there are reasons as to why these two have been consistently linked to trade rumors.
Rielly, 32, is the longest-tenured member of the current Maple Leafs roster. He's gearing up for his 14th NHL season and is 49 appearances away from reaching the 1,000-game plateau.
Rielly would be the sixth player in Maple Leafs history to play 1,000 games for the franchise, and would surpass Mats Sundin on the list of games played in his next 30 regular-season games with Toronto.
However, despite the aforementioned no-move clause on his eight-year, $7.5-million-per-year contract, there is a real possibility that the veteran defenseman doesn't make it to the 2026-27 season with Toronto.
"(Rielly) has previously been unwilling to consider waiving his no-movement clause but has since softened on that stance," Johnston wrote. "He still controls the process because of that mechanism in his contract, but a fresh start is looking increasingly likely."
Though Rielly and the Maple Leafs have been attached for the duration of his NHL career, there is an understanding that it could be beneficial for both sides to start fresh.
He hasn't performed up to expectations in the past two seasons. Rielly is coming off a 36-point campaign after playing 78 games for the Leafs, which is his lowest point total since the 2020-21 season, when he played just 55 games.
He also notched the second-worst plus-minus rating of his entire career (minus-18), and that includes the Maple Leafs' ugly years between 2013-14 and 2015-16.
As for Knies, he's been a real bright spot for the Maple Leafs as a young player who's been able to have an impact in the NHL. The 23-year-old is coming off another solid season, scoring 23 goals, as well as a career-high of 43 assists and 66 points.
In addition to his play on the ice, Knies is on a fair contract, earning $7.75 million through the 2030-31 campaign.
So why would Toronto consider moving off a young star like Knies, who can be a part of the solution in getting the Leafs back in the Stanley Cup playoffs?
It started at the NHL trade deadline back in March, when the rumblings of Knies potentially being moved came through.
"(The Maple Leafs) felt he could bring back a bonanza of assets to reboot a program short on prospects and draft picks," Johnston said.
There's a real argument that Knies is the most valuable asset in the Maple Leafs' organization in terms of what Toronto can receive in a trade. In fact, it wasn't long ago that Johnston also reported that someone who works for an NHL team said they'd be willing to give up more assets for Knies than Auston Matthews.
In a system that doesn't have several outstanding prospects and assets to dispense, Toronto's front office might have to consider sacrificing its young star to stock the cupboards further.
Though the trade deadline incident was under Brad Treliving, current GM John Chayka has alerted the rest of the league that he's willing to have conversations about any player on the roster, except for Matthews.
Not to mention, on a team that has plenty of players with trade protection and clauses, Knies' contract doesn't include any of that language until 2030-31, when he has a 10-team no-trade list, according to puckpedia.com.
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