Some things shouldn’t have to be said and with an organization that reveres players like Wendel Clark, Darcy Tucker, and Gary Roberts so much and suffered through attempts to replace them with options like David Clarkson, Nick Ritchie, Colby Armstrong, and others, it seems odd to have to say that Matthew Knies should be untouchable from a Maple Leafs perspective. Matthew Knies is essentially Gary Roberts.

Much of Elliotte Friedman’s 11th hour of trade deadline article and subsequent Sportsnet follow up felt like an attempt draw more eyes towards the trade deadline product they and every other hockey media outlet were selling. There wasn’t much critical thinking involved when it comes to the Maple Leafs and no attempt to appreciate that when decisions are likely forthcoming on the General Manager and Coach in addition to the players on the roster, slicing off a significant part of the roster without any real direction doesn’t make a lot of sense. Of course, you don’t miss the playoffs with an Auston Matthews led team unless you are doing somethings defy logic and don’t make sense so perhaps bringing Knies into the conversation was fair.

Knies is the type of player that would allow the Maple Leafs to address areas of need like a second line center or top pairing defenceman, that much is true, but trading him ignores that the Maple Leafs would be back to hunting down a power forward, an incredibly hit or miss role on any team and given that Matthew Knies has been established as a hit for the Maple Leafs, the question remains “why trade him?” This is shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic at an advanced level.

At 23, Knies is a 60 point player. He came within a goal of being a 30-goal scorer last season and while that might not happen this season, he remains one of the more consistent forwards despite not having Marner as a linemate like in 2024-25 and this year having Knies spend more time away from Auston Matthews. He’s progressing and he’s 23 in a lineup that is significantly older than he is and he doesn’t come with the question marks of his fellow youngsters. Throw in his $7.75M AAV cap hit that keeps him a Leaf through his prime into 2031, the case for keeping Knies is an easy one and not one the Leafs should go away from.

The argument for trading Knies seems to be based in how few bullets the Maple Leafs have left in the chamber when it comes to upgrading the team. And while trading Knies to improve a different position isn’t upgrading, other positions being prioritized is often the reality when it comes to high performing wingers and without the immediate gratification of high value 2026 picks and Nick Schmaltz already removed from July 1st free agency, trading a good player to get a good player seems to be on the table. While there are still plenty of defensive upgrades available for the Maple Leafs, trading Knies might be the best option for a second line centre upgrade, assuming that Leafs believe their priority is moving Tavares to the wing or pushing him down to the third line.

Practically, the Leafs might want to find ways support Tavares further on his line with stronger linemates and address that without dealing Knies, or potentially even put in the work to see if the Leafs can move Knies to centre, an option that at least seems less awful than using Max Domi at centre.

The combination of the power forward archetype, Knies’ age, and his contract along make him about as close to untouchable as possible. While there are “the cap is going up” and “age doesn’t matter when the window is open now” arguments, the need for high value contracts and hedging the bets about whether or not the Leafs competitive window is still open allow for dismissing the ideas at least at a superficial, not fully explored in depth level.

At the trade deadline it was easy to say no to a Knies trade as there is no sense of urgency and plenty of uncertainty of what comes next for the Maple Leafs. Depending on what happens in the offseason there might be some reason to sway from the stance of Knies being untouchable, but the biggest factor in making Knies available would be based on whether or not he still wants to be a Leaf. Signing a contract extension until 2031 was a strong sign that he wanted to be in Toronto but a tough year and some tougher questions coming in the offseason, Knies might be looking for an out. Only then does it start making sense to talk about trading a player the Leafs will spend the next decade trying to find a replacement for.