Speaking with media today following the acquisition of defenseman Darren Raddysh, Maple Leafs GM John Chayka was asked about the looming fate of winger Matthew Knies. Believed to have been dangled before the trade deadline in March, is he still in play? Chayka told reporters including Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun that while anything is possible, moving the 23-year-old is “not probable”. Knies had a career year in 2025-26, posting 66 points in 79 games despite playing through an injury toward the end of the season.
With five years left on his contract at a $7.75MM AAV, it’s easy to see why teams around the league would be interested in Knies. A big top-line winger doesn’t come available too often and there’s no doubt that he would command a significant return. On the other hand, he’s also the type of core player that Toronto should be building around, especially since he’s signed for another half-decade and is in his prime. While he’s the type of player who could get enough in return to restock their cupboards, today’s acquisition of Raddysh cements the plan that they’re looking to get back to the postseason right away. That’s a lot harder to do without Knies than with him.
Meanwhile, Chayka also noted to Koshan and other reporters that he sees the center position as “an area of opportunity”. With John Tavares looking like a candidate to shift to the wing, the injury uncertainty around Max Domi, and the departures of Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton at the trade deadline, Toronto’s depth down the middle has certainly taken a hit. Of course, many teams are going to be looking for upgrades at the center spot this summer but the Maple Leafs will be among them.
With Raddysh’s acquisition today, that will only further fuel speculation about Morgan Rielly’s future with Toronto. The 32-year-old has spent his entire 13-year NHL career in a Maple Leafs uniform but has started to slide down the depth chart a bit. With a $7.5MM AAV for four more seasons, he also carries a big price tag that he hasn’t quite lived up to lately.
Rielly, of course, has full no-trade protection, so if he is going to move elsewhere, he has to sign off on it first. To that end, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston noted in a TSN appearance that there has been a bit of progress in terms of trying to find the veteran a new team. His agent, J.P. Barry, has been working with the Maple Leafs to help try to facilitate things.
There’s no word on how much longer it might take for a deal to materialize and it could go a couple of ways. We’re likely to see an uptick in trades leading up to the draft as is often the case and a team could look to get a head start on the market by swinging a trade for Rielly. Alternatively, interested teams may prefer to see how things go at the start of free agency first and then look at Rielly as a fallback plan. If that’s the case, this file could drag out for a while yet but it certainly looks like he’s going to be playing elsewhere next season.
