The Toronto Maple Leafs want and need to improve their blue line heading into 2026-27. The problem is that’s far easier said than done.
Aside from Darren Raddysh, the free-agent crop is rather thin, so if GM John Chayka wants to meaningfully upgrade his defense corps, it may need to come via a trade of substance, possibly by moving a player they don’t particularly want to lose.
Matthew Knies is a name that has come up a lot as an option, and on Tuesday TSN analyst Mike Johnson floated a deal sending him to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for both Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec.
“Who would you rather have, Dougie Hamilton or Morgan Rielly? I mean, I think Dougie Hamilton is a better player at this point… Would you trade Matthew Knies for Simon Nemec and Dougie Hamilton? I’m not sure I would either. I don’t know how I feel about Nemec, but they need to get younger, they need to get better, they need bodies that can move the puck. It’s just somebody asked me that today and I’m like, I don’t know. I don’t know how good I think Nemec is, but he’s going to get traded at some point,”
The 23-year-old Knies has five years remaining on the six-year, $46.5 million contract extension he signed with the Maple Leafs just last summer, which, of course, doesn’t include any trade protection until the 2030-31 campaign. He racked up 66 points (23 goals, 43 assists) in 79 games played this past season.
While Hamilton and Nemec might not be enough to pry Knies out of Toronto, it could be the type of move the Maple Leafs will have to make if they want to shake things up on the back end.
It got rather loud around the young star winger in the lead-up to the deadline, and his lack of trade protection means these conversations will only continue into the offseason and moving forward.
Next: Could the Montreal Canadiens Sell High on Jakub Dobes?
