The Montreal Canadiens didn't make any moves before the trade deadline, but that doesn't mean Kent Hughes wasn't trying to get something done. The Canadiens GM was late to his post-trade deadline press conference and shared a little insight into why he was late, and recent reporting seems to point to one player they were looking at.
Over the weekend, David Pagnotta reported that the Canadiens were working on a trade for a right-handed defenseman that went right up to the deadline. On Monday, Nick Kypreos was on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and said the team the Canadiens were talking to right up to the deadline was the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"There is a sense in at least my inner world that the deal [Kent Hughes] was working on was with the Toronto Maple Leafs," Kyper said. They begin to speculate on who that player might have been, and they land on forward Matthew Knies.
By process of elimination, Knies makes the most sense as the biggest player the Maple Leafs could trade after Auston Matthews or William Nylander. Even with the Maple Leafs being sellers, it is hard to imagine that it was either of those players.
That leaves Knies as the next logical choice, and he would be a perfect fit for what the Montreal Canadiens need. He is a big forward who would fit in perfectly on that top line next to Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
The Montreal Canadiens general manager did say that this is a trade that they could revisit this summer. This means it wasn't a player who was traded at the deadline or one who is on an expiring contract. Knies certainly fits both of those criteria as he still has five years left on his contract after this season.
Knies is also a player who can grow with the current core the Canadiens have. The Montreal Canadiens believe their window is just opening, so adding a player who is just entering their prime, like Caufield and Suzuki, would be a smart move.
That is Knies, as he had 58 points last season and already has 51 this season in only 61 games.
Could the Montreal Canadiens have been targeting a Maple Leafs defenseman in the same trade?
What is interesting is that the reporting by Pagnotta conflicts with what Kyper is hearing about this mystery trade. However, what if they were going to trade for more than one player?
In addition to Knies, the Maple Leafs were trying to move defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and he also wasn't traded. Ekman-Larsson is an older player at 34 years old but is still playing a ton of minutes and is averaging over 20 minutes per game.
The addition of Ekman-Larsson on the second line would have brought more balance to the Canadiens blueline. It would have given head coach Martin St. Louis three pairs that would allow him to balance the minutes a little better.
There is no question that this would have been a massive trade and certainly one that would have helped Montreal this season, but also moving forward. It is something worth watching this summer to see if this was the trade target and if they can finally complete it after the season.