Insider Lists 5 Teams That Had ‘Serious Interest’ in Matthew Knies at Deadline

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies

The Matthew Knies rumors just won't go away for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Montreal Canadiens were linked to the team after the trade deadline as one of those engaged in extended talks about trying to swing a blockbuster trade for Toronto's young, budding power forward.

But now insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has revealed that there were no less than five teams that had "serious interest" in Knies as the March 6th d-day approached.

Teams that showed serious interest in Matthew Knies included Anaheim, Chicago, Montreal, New Jersey and Utah. Everyone has denied that the Canadiens went far down the road, but … we’ll see. There were some teams who didn’t believe the Maple Leafs were serious about it, but now recognize the possibility.

Granted, the Leafs weren't serious serious about wanting to trade Knies, but it seems that they've come to the realization that if they want to really jumpstart a reset, they'll need to trade one of their big three of Auston Matthews, William Nylander or Knies to get a multi-player, impactful return.

Insider Nick Kypreos wrote earlier this week that "if this deadline proved anything, it’s that adding significant picks and prospects will be hard to do if a trade doesn’t involve one of Matthews, Nylander or Knies."

Which five teams had interest in Matthew Knies at the trade deadline?

As for Montreal, there is now some question about just how far along those talks got, according to Friedman, but there's no doubt that the Leafs would be asking for at least a couple of the Habs' top young prospects. Names like Michael Hage and Dave Reinbacher come to mind.

The Ducks and Blackhawks also have plenty of young talent, and in Chicago's case, they've shown interest in Knies in the past, trying to work out a trade with Toronto a few years back, before the burgeoning first-liner exploded into the promising NHL talent he is now.

The Mammoth are another team that's been looking to make a big splash in the forward market, and they, too, have plenty of top young prospects that should greatly interest the Leafs. Names like Caleb Desnoyers and Tij Iginla leap off the page.

As for New Jersey? Knies' first NHL head coach, Sheldon Keefe, is behind the bench there (though there's some doubt if that will still be the case after their disappointing season comes to an end).