Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger on the Toronto Maple Leafs getting calls on Matthew Knies
Sportsnet: Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger on TSN Overdrive on all of the pre-trade deadline trade rumors on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies, and the Montreal Canadiens speculation.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Bryan Hayes: “After the very fact, it became the Leafs and the Habs we’re talking, and perhaps Matthew Knies and his name was on the market. What’s the fact here? What was actually being discussed? Was Matthew Knies and his name on the market? What are you able to tell us?
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Johnston: “Well, 100% the Leafs had discussions involving Matthew Knies’. You understand, how close it got, I believe might be been overstated a bit bit in some circles. Like, I don’t have the impression that they were, you realize, they got right all the way down to the ultimate stages, and, you realize, ended up missing on a cope with him.
But you realize, let’s take a look at the explanation why you’d trade a Matthew Knies. I mean, he has no protection in his contract. He’s probably the most respected asset the Leafs have. I’m not saying by any stretch, he’s their best player. But should you got to a degree at any stage where they’re attempting to trade one in every of the players with a no-movement clause, they’re not as precious available on the market, because they’re going to dictate where they go. It’s not a real, you realize, open process for bidding.
And so, you realize, I believe, given where the season’s gone, where things are at, it just made sense for the Leafs to listen on Knies. You understand, Dregs may know otherwise, but I even have no reason to imagine they got close, near getting anything done there.
But, you realize, it’s every part was on the table effectively, and so they listened and got a way of his value, and we’ll see in the event that they pick that up. I don’t even know who’ll be making that decision within the summertime, however it could obviously be something that’s revisited down the road.”
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Dregs: “Yeah, I might say this, like every team has a bunch of players that perhaps aren’t untouchable, but they’re very near being untouchable. But that that doesn’t mean that other general managers, once they can see the direction that the organization goes, you make the decision and also you ask a what if query.
You understand, what if we were to place an actual healthy package on the table for Matthew Knies? Would you listen? All right.
And I believe that’s exactly what happened, specific to the Montreal Canadiens. And I don’t know this, but I believe that the response from the Maple Leafs was, what are we talking about here? Michael Hage, two first-round draft picks, something else? In case you put all of those pieces on the table for Matthew Knies, ‘Okay, let’s have a conversation.’ It never got to that time it didn’t.
And there, CJ is, right. There have been other teams, not many, but there have been other teams. I mean, when, when the Maple Leafs explored, just kicked tires on Robert Thomas of the St Louis Blues? What do you’re thinking that Doug Armstrong the Blues expect as a part of something coming back, should you’re getting in that realm, right? And it could have been Knies and something. But Toronto at no point was ever shopping Matthew Knies.
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And I understand gets right into a game of semantics, but there may be an enormous difference between putting players in play and having general managers call you and say, ‘What type of deal wouldn’t it take so that you can entertain that possibility?’ And that was where Knies and Maple Leafs were.
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