Report: Canadiens GM Scolded Ex-Leafs GM Treliving For Bungling Knies Trade

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies

The fallout from the stunning revelations of the failed Matthew Knies trade is still unravelling. According to a report by insider Jonas Siegel of YYZ Sports Media, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes scolded former Toronto Maple Leafs' GM Brad Treliving after the latter failed to get their Knies trade submitted to the NHL.

There is a part of this allegedly failed trade between the Habs & the Leafs that no 1 wants to mention, & that is the apparent verbal undressing that BT got from KH for bungling the deal, like "If you’re not fired by the summer, you need to honor this trade”. All heard by KP.
— Jonah Sigel | Sports media + streaming (@yyzsportsmedia) June 5, 2026

"There is a part of this allegedly failed trade between the Habs & the Leafs that no one wants to mention, & that is the apparent verbal undressing that BT (Brad Treliving) got from KH (Kent Hughes) for bungling the deal, like 'If you’re not fired by the summer, you need to honor this trade', wrote Siegel. And he added that it was all heard by MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley.

Wow.

The reports have emerged that the trade was scuttled because it was sent in to the NHL offices one minute late — at 3:01pm ET.

🚨 MATTHEW KNIES WAS ONE MINUTE AWAY FROM BEING A MONTREAL CANADIEN.

Now confirmed, last year’s trade-deadline deal that would have sent Knies to Montreal fell through after being submitted exactly 60 seconds past the 3 p.m. ET hard deadline.

“Now, I’ve heard different… pic.twitter.com/sxsjVwmDVl
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) June 5, 2026

The trade that very nearly sent the Leafs' burgeoning power forward to Montreal would have brought back an all-futures package to Toronto, featuring NHL Rookie of the Year Alexander Zharovsky, another top prospect and two first-round draft picks.

Of course, now that Treliving is no longer in the employ of the Maple Leafs, there's no guarantee that new GM John Chayka would even think of trading Knies, to the Habs or anywhere else. Chayka has not commented on it.

The biggest question now going forward for the Leafs is how will Knies feel about returning to the team that actually had a deal done to ship him out of town?