The Montreal Canadiens thought they had pulled off a massive deal at the NHL Trade Deadline with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Matthew Knies. Unfortunately, the trade was filed a minute past the deadline, and it now looks like the Canadiens need to go back to the drawing board if they want to trade for the player.
On a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman confirmed the reports by David Pagnotta that the Canadiens and Maple Leafs had a deal in place that included Alexander Zharovsky, another prospect, and two first-round picks. The NHL insider wouldn't speculate on who was at fault for the deal being submitted late that essentially cost the Canadiens Knies.
Elliotte Friedman doesn't believe Toronto Maple Leafs will revisit Matthew Knies trade with Canadiens
Now that it is the offseason, the Canadiens have a chance to revisit the trade, but unfortunately, they face a new hurdle. Since the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a change at general manager with John Chayka replacing Brad Treliving.
After the initial discussion, Friedman was asked if this is a trade that could be revisited with Chayka, and he seemingly closed that door rather quickly. "No," Friedman said. "I think it's possible Montreal wanted to revisit but I don't believe it will happen. I think that deal is off the table now."
From the Maple Leafs perspective, it is hard to blame them that they wouldn't want to revisit that trade. Since then, they have gained the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, and Chayka has to prove to Auston Matthews that he wants to build a competitive team.
That would be tough to do by moving Matthew Knies for a package of essentially future assets.
As Friedman notes, the Canadiens would want to reopen discussions as Knies is exactly the type of player that they are looking for. A player just entering his prime, who has term left on his contract, that can grow and develop with the young core they have in place.
However, any trade package is going to have to be changed, and one that includes players who can help the Maple Leafs win now. The question is whether Kent Hughes would even want to do that after knowing the package that was agreed to but not completed due to essentially paperwork.
It is a tough situation for the Canadiens, and at the end of the day, it might be nothing more than a 'what if' in franchise history of what could have been if Matthew Knies was traded at the deadline.
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