Leafs' top prospect rumoured to no longer be ''untouchable''
Going back to last year's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding the Leafs potentially moving a top prospect and/or their first round pick in order to acquire a difference-maker for the playoffs. In the end, the Buds did not trade a top prospect, nor did they deal their first round pick - but here we are, one year later, and those rumours are once again beginning to surface.
The Leafs are rumoured to have at least kicked tires on all of the big deadline rentals, including Patrick Kane, Ryan O'Reilly and Bo Horvat, at one point or another this season. As you'd expect, guys of this caliber are all going to carry a pretty hefty price tag, including a 1st rounder and perhaps even a top prospect.
The rumour for much of this season was that the Leafs were expecting to have Matthew Knies sign his ELC at the conclusion of his year with the University of Minnesota and join the Leafs at the end of the season and for the duration of the Playoffs. Up to this point, Knies has been viewed as an "untouchable". Well, on Friday, DFO's Frank Seravalli revealed that the Leafs would indeed consider moving Knies and that he is not "untouchable", even if the Leafs would prefer not to move him unless the right deal came along.
"I think there are question marks about [Knies] and maybe if the Leafs could go back and have some revisionist history and re-do last year's deadline, maybe they include him and take a bigger swing with some of the pieces that they did trade, because I think he's maybe viewed a little bit as less of a top prospect than he was one year ago."
-Frank Seravalli on the idea that the Leafs could move Matthew Knies this year for the right piece
Seravalli did also state that just because the organization was so hesitant to move him last year doesn't necessarily mean that they'd carry that same level of hesitation to move him this year, but that it wasn't a knock on the player. TLN's Nick Alberga mentioned the fact that Leafs Nation has a tendency to over-inflate the value of some of their prospects, much like how they did with Nick Robertson after his breakout year in the OHL and that we'd be foolish to assume that Knies is going to come in and be the answer to all of the team's problems immediately coming out of college.
I'm not wild about the idea of trading Matthew Knies, personally. For a guy who has been called a bit of a unicorn by not only those in Toronto, but from scouts and executives from other teams as well, he just seems like the type of player that the Leafs would regret moving.
Again, I think it's important to listen to what Seravalli is saying and not try to create a narrative that isn't there. He's not saying that the Leafs WILL trade Matthew Knies - just that they might if the right deal came along.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 20 | 957 ANSWERS Leafs' top prospect rumoured to no longer be ''untouchable'' Should the Leafs move Matthew Knies to make a big splash at the deadline? | ||
| Yes, absolutely | 130 | 13.6 % |
| No, not a chance I'd move him | 412 | 43.1 % |
| Depends on the return | 415 | 43.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
