Maple Leafs had 5 teams wanting to trade for Matthew Knies

The Toronto Maple Leafs surprised the NHL when rumors emerged that Matthew Knies might be on the trade block.

He wasn't actually moved before the deadline earlier in March, but apparently it was on the table.

And it wasn't just one team after Knies, even if the rumors have mostly centered around the Montreal Canadiens.

Turns out, at least five teams wanted Knies. That's what Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported in his new 32 Thoughts column on Thursday.

"Teams that showed serious interest in Matthew Knies included Anaheim, Chicago, Montreal, New Jersey and Utah," Friedman writes. "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."

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The most interesting part of this report is that batch of five teams.

Anaheim, Montreal and Utah can all view this season as one in which they want to get into the playoffs and make noise.

But the Blackhawks and Devils? They're both looking firmly to the future.

Yes, Knies is a potential future asset, but a contender would also benefit from having him for the stretch run. A tanking or rebuilding team really wouldn't.

Maybe this sets up for Knies to get traded in the summer as teams reset what they're doing.

At the very least, it does seem real. And that's worth noting as the Maple Leafs try to figure out the direction they're heading in the future.

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