Maple Leafs have a path to trading Matthew Knies before deadline

The Toronto Maple Leafs almost certainly are going to have more work to do by Friday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

What about Matthew Knies?

That's the premise posed in a new article Thursday night by TSN's Elliotte Friedman. Could they trade Knies?

A lot of names have been floated in rumors. But essentially three haven't shown up at all: Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Knies.

Friedman suggests the Leafs are at least listening if Knies' name comes up.

"I heard some Matthew Knies, and that, to me, is the Maple Leafs seeing if there’s a massive offer they can’t turn down," Friedman writes. "That is the only way I see it happening."

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So to be fair, it sounds highly unlikely.

It does show, though, that Knies falls in a bit of a different category than Matthews and Nylander. He's not untouchable.

It's a fascinating situation for Toronto, which surely plans on being much better next season. In that context, trading Knies isn't a logical move. The Leafs will want him as part of their core going forward.

That's why the price would have to be sky high. Toronto would have to feel it was upgrading its future ceiling by moving Knies.

So yeah, he's unlikely to be moved. But it's interesting to know that he's at least conceptually in play. The Maple Leafs are considering almost everything.

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