The Maple Leafs’ offseason has been quieter than the rumor mill would like, but that hasn’t stopped teams from circling. Matthew Knies is the kind of young player that gets attention around the league: big, skilled, physical, and already locked into a team-friendly deal. And according to one report, the Toronto Maple Leafs made it clear they weren’t interested in moving him cheaply.
NHL insider Vincent Mercogliano reported that the New York Rangers had serious interest in Knies earlier this offseason, but the sides never found a deal. There was talk of a possible framework that would have sent veteran centre Vincent Trocheck to Toronto, but the Maple Leafs valued Knies far more than a simple one-for-one exchange. The Rangers eventually sent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth, and the Knies chatter appears to be over for now.
That outcome says plenty about how Toronto views the 23-year-old winger. Knies brings size, skill, and a willingness to go to the hard areas of the ice.
He’s not just a goal scorer; he’s the kind of player whose value tends to rise when the games get tighter and the calendar flips to April. With Toronto having him under contract through his prime years, general manager John Chayka has real leverage if another team comes calling.
The key distinction here is between listening and shopping. Every GM listens.
That’s part of the business. But the way this played out suggests Knies is being treated as part of the solution, not as a piece to move for the sake of making a deal.
While Toronto was dealing with that bit of offseason noise, another story was making the rounds across the league: schedule luck. According to NHL analyst Jason Gregor, the Montreal Canadiens will face opponents playing the second game of a back-to-back 19 times in the 2026-27 season, the most in the NHL. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets will get that same advantage just five times.
That doesn’t hand Montreal anything, of course. Teams still have to win the games in front of them.
But fatigue is real in hockey. A team on the back end of a back-to-back can have slower legs, sloppier details, and sometimes a backup goaltender in net.
Over 84 games, those little edges can matter.
Fans noticed right away, and the reaction was predictable: disbelief, jokes, and plenty of side-eye at the numbers. In a division as tight as the Atlantic, though, even a schedule quirk can become part of the conversation. Toronto knows the margin for error is thin, and a handful of extra games against tired opponents could end up mattering when the standings get crowded.
For the Maple Leafs, the bigger picture is still the same. Chayka seems more interested in building a stable core than chasing headlines, and holding onto players like Knies fits that approach. Toronto can’t control the schedule, but it can control how ready it is when those games arrive.
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