Canadiens’ proposed package for Matthew Knies included Alexander Zharovsky, two first-round picks, and a prospect

Report: Canadiens’ proposed package for Matthew Knies included Alexander Zharovsky, two first-round picks, and a prospect

The Toronto Maple Leafs almost executed a blockbuster at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline that very well may have set the market on fire. For better or for worse? You be the judge.

There were reports that shortly before the trade deadline in March, the Leafs and the Canadiens were in talks about a trade centred around young star forward Matthew Knies. The details of the trade proposal weren’t disclosed, until now. It was reported on Thursday afternoon by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta that the package for Knies would have included prospect Alexander Zharovsky, another unnamed prospect, and two first-round picks.

As I spoke about on DFO Rundown Insider Edition earlier today, in exchange for Knies, the Canadiens were going to send highly-touted prospect Alexander Zharovsky (whose name I mispronounced in the segment, my apologies), another top prospect and two first-round draft picks to Toronto. Sources also confirmed the second player was not Michael Hage nor David Reinbacher. According to sources, the Canadiens approached the Leafs late in the day on deadline day about the move, which Toronto accepted, but the Leafs were unable to get the trade filed ahead of the 3pm ET deadline. -David Pagnotta

This would have been seismic trade for the Maple Leafs to make to begin with, let alone with a bitter rival. While Knies didn’t take a massive step forward in 2025-26, that was the case for most of the team. He’s still a 22-year-old 6-foot-3 power forward who flirted with 30 goals in 2024-25 and finished 2025-26 with 66 points. He’s somewhat of a unicorn prospect, and despite the haul they were apparently ready to accept, trading somebody like Knies to the Canadiens would not have sat well with the fanbase.

The “big trade” Montreal nearly pulled off at the deadline was with the Leafs. Matthew Knies almost became a Hab, with four pieces heading back to Toronto. Should the teams revisit this trade ahead of the draft?

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Whether the Maple Leafs and Canadiens pick up trade talks again now that Treliving is out and Chayka is in, is unknown, but given what Chayka had to say about Knies recently, it doesn’t sound like the new regime has any interest in trading him.

“Knies is a really unique player,” Chayka told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox recently. “I think his blend of size and skating and skill is really, really hard to find. I’m not aware of what happened at the deadline or what previous regimes thought. I think Mats and I are going to go through and evaluate the roster and make some decisions.”

The Maple Leafs are on the cusp of an important offseason, beginning with the first overall pick at the upcoming draft.

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