The Maple Leafs had a chance to chase one of the biggest blue-line names on the market this summer, but the price tag on Zach Werenski helped steer them somewhere else.
Werenski’s name came up often for Toronto, and the fit made sense. The 6-foot-2 defenseman put up 22 goals and 59 assists for 81 points last season and stood out on a Blue Jackets team that still missed the postseason. According to TSN, the Leafs were the only Canadian team Werenski was interested in being traded to.
But interest and acquisition cost are two very different things. The Blue Jackets were never going to move a player of that caliber for a modest package, and Darren Dreger reported that Matthew Knies became a central part of the talks. That put Toronto in a real bind: keep one of its best young forwards, or pay up for an elite No. 1 defenseman.
It was no small question. Werenski won the Norris Trophy this past season, and Toronto had obvious need on the back end, especially with Morgan Rielly dropping off on both sides of the puck. The Leafs also needed more from their power play, which finished the 2025-26 season at 21.3 percent, good for 15th in the NHL.
Knies, though, gave Toronto a reason to hesitate. At 23, he still has a lot of runway ahead of him, and the source material points to a player with real upside, including point-per-game potential. There’s also the possibility of him skating alongside Auston Matthews and Gavin McKenna this season, which only sharpens the value of keeping him in the fold.
In the end, Toronto went a different direction.
Instead of parting with Knies for Werenski, John Chayka landed Darren Raddysh and committed eight years and $68 million to the right-shot defenseman after a 70-point season. The 30-year-old brings the kind of offensive punch Toronto was looking for, and the idea is that he can slide beside Morgan Rielly on the top pair as a strong No. 2 option.
Raddysh’s numbers made the appeal obvious: 22 goals and 70 points last season, production that suggests he can handle major offensive responsibility. The cap hit also matters.
He comes in at $8.5 million, while Werenski is above $9.5 million. But the bigger difference was what Toronto would have had to give up beyond money.
A Werenski deal could have meant Knies plus additional value, while the Raddysh move cost the Leafs a fifth-round pick and preserved their young forward.
So Toronto took the cheaper path in terms of acquisition cost, held onto Knies, and added a high-end blueliner without sacrificing a core piece. Whether that turns out to be the smarter play will come down to how sustainable Raddysh’s breakout is and how much Knies keeps growing.
In Other News...
Matthew Knies Deal Already Looks Better For The Leafs
Matthew Knies long-term deal with the Maple Leafs was signed with the usual mix of hope and risk that comes with paying for upside before it has fully matured. Toronto committed six years at a $7.75 million average annual value in 2025, betting that Knies would keep trending into a key top-six piece and that the price would look sensible as the salary cap and comparable contracts kept moving. At the time, it was a notable investment in a player still building his full resume.
Now the market around other young forwards is starting to make that number look even more reasonable. Cutter Gauthier, a restricted free agent with the Anaheim Ducks, is reportedly in negotiations that could land in the $15-17 million AAV range, with Leo Carlssons recent $18 million AAV extension hanging over those talks as a reference point. Knies and Gauthier are different players in different situations, but the broader takeaway for Toronto is hard to miss: a contract that once looked ambitious can start to feel sharp if the next wave of comparables keeps climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup Puts Familiar Faces In A Tough Spot
The Maple Leafs projected 2026-27 lineup offers a snapshot of how much the roster could change after a round of organizational adjustments, with new acquisitions and coaching tweaks reshaping the teams balance up front and on the back end. The exercise is less about where Toronto is today and more about how the club might try to blend scoring punch with more reliable two-way play if the right pieces settle into place.
What makes the projection interesting for Leafs followers is the way it creates pressure points for familiar faces while opening the door for newcomers to carve out meaningful roles. Health and consistency remain part of the conversation, especially in goal, where the team is still trying to sort out how much trust to place in Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz as the position gets redefined around them. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Camp Could Get Complicated Thanks To Two Overlooked Names
Training camp usually starts with the obvious names, the players everyone assumes are already locked in or fighting for the last few spots, but Bo Groulx and Marshall Rifai are the kinds of depth pieces who can quietly make things interesting for the Maple Leafs. Groulx brought good energy and solid play with the Marlies, and he even got a brief look with Toronto last season, which at least puts him on the radar when camp opens.
Rifai is the other name worth tracking because his game is built around physicality and defense, the sort of profile that can stand out if the new coaching staff wants a different look from its bottom-end options. Neither player is a favorite to break through, and neither comes with any guarantee, but both have enough going for them to keep this camp from being as straightforward as it first appears. [Read more 🡒]