Leafs’ Matthew Knies surprised his name in trade speculation

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On to Montreal.

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With 18 games remaining in the 2025-26 regular season and not much to play for but pride, the Maple Leafs head into Montreal on Tuesday night for a tilt with a Canadiens team that returns from a three-game trip through California, going 1-1-1.

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The Leafs, a crisp 0-5-2 in their past seven games, have settled into a spot where the standings don’t matter. With 11 points separating them from the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, they’re going to miss the Stanley Cup tournament for the first time in 10 years.

Captain Auston Matthews concurred with what Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper said on Saturday about the Leafs: That this season probably will be a one-off for the group.

It was evident that Matthews has given it some thought.

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“Yeah, of course,” Matthews said. “I remember the Lightning missed the playoffs (in 2016-17) and the next year they’re back at the top of the division competing.

“You look at a team like Boston this year, had a down year (in 2024-25), same thing, they’re in the mix. Sometimes that happens.

“We’ve been fortunate to be in the playoffs for the past nine years or so. The focus is on right now and trying to get our game back.

“But it’s something you think about.”

Other pertinent questions from practice on Monday at the Ford Performance Centre:

What did Matthew Knies think of hearing his name in trade speculation last week?

As strange as it was because it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which the Leafs would have truly entertained trading a player who represents legitimate hope for the future, Knies’ name started to make the rounds before the NHL trade deadline passed on Friday afternoon.

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We weren’t among those buying the idea that he could have been used as a piece in a trade for Robert Thomas from the St. Louis Blues, not that such a deal had anything approaching traction.

“Yeah, a little bit (surprised),” Knies said about being part of rumours. “I didn’t really look into it too much. I feel like, with this market, everyone’s kind of almost a target. It’s a business.

“I guess you earn the attention here, you know? But I don’t want to look into it too much.”

Nor should Knies, who has 51 points (16 goals and 35 assists) in 61 games as he has played through a lower-body injury. Though he said he feels like “I could be doing a lot better offensively and contributing a lot more,” he will be a crucial player for the Leafs for years to come.

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What does Matthews have to say about his overall game?

Let’s be specific: We’re talking about Matthews’ inability in recent weeks to put the puck in the net.

Matthews’ 11-game run without scoring is, for the most past, uncharted waters for him. There was the 13-game dry spell in his rookie season in 2016-17, but in the eight seasons between that one and this one, Matthews didn’t go more than seven games in a row without scoring. And that was seven years ago.

“I thought it took a little bit for me to get going,” Matthew said. “And then I thought December was when I started to find my game a bit. Since we’ve been back (from the break for the Winter Olympics), it has been a tough stretch for everybody, for myself personally, and us as a team.

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“We’re having a tough time creating offence, finding the back of the net, and it’s always tough to win games when the puck is going in our net more than it’s going in the opponent’s net.”

Well, that’s true. It’s on the leadership group to take the Leafs out of their slide in whatever way possible and, when Matthews isn’t scoring, it’s going to hurt the club as a whole.

In a 12-game span from Dec. 27 to Jan. 19, Matthews had 11 goals. In 15 games since, during which Toronto has gone 3-9-3, Matthews has one goal.

Matthews said that “for the most part” his health has been fine. Despite that, he’s on pace for 34 goals.

For that matter, where is defenceman Morgan Rielly with his game?

There has been very little for Rielly to like about what has happened in 2025-26 from a team or individual standpoint.

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He’s the only Leafs player remaining from the pre-Matthews era of darkness and his defensive woes have been well-documented this season.

On his 32nd birthday on Monday, though, Rielly didn’t want to get overly introspective.

“I think that we’ve all done some reflecting, and we all want to be better,” Rielly said. “I think that’s what everyone’s feeling, myself included.”

One major off-season decision that will have to be made by general manager Brad Treliving — or his replacement if he is fired — is whether Rielly will be approached to waive his no-movement clause. He has four more years with an annual cap hit of $7.5 million remaining.

Seven of the Leafs’ eight defencemen are under contract next season (only Troy Stecher is unrestricted this July), yet no one would argue that the defence corps should return intact.

The Rielly situation and its solution, one way or the other, will come under much scrutiny during the summer.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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