The Toronto Maple Leafs are wheeling and dealing ahead of Friday’s first round of the NHL Draft. Prior to adding top free agent defenseman Darren Raddysh through a sign and trade, the Leafs added defenseman Emil Andrae and goaltender Sam Ersson from the Philadelphia Flyers. In a few days, John Chayka transformed the Leafs' blue line, one of their biggest issues last season.
Now, Chayka is looking to move pieces around on this roster and add some necessary youth to the team. The Maple Leafs were given a gift when they won the draft lottery and the rights to take Gavin McKenna first overall, but that hasn’t satisfied Chayka and the Leafs’ staff.
The major Leafs trade rumors have been surrounding the pieces they could get for Matthew Knies and Morgan Rielly. The former of which is expected to bring a massive haul. Knies was one of the better available forwards this entire offseason. However, like what happened during the lead up to the NHL Trade Deadline, Knies has remained a member of Toronto’s roster.
This time, however, it seems like another trade has fallen through. There was a rumor that a trade at the last moment of the deadline between the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens fell through because they ran out of time. This time, the Stars and Leafs had something cooking. The big issue was that the Stars were trading a piece they did not currently have in their possession, and Jason Robertson held all the cards.
As I’ve reported, #Leafs are seeking another Top 10 pick in 2026 #NHLDraft.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 26, 2026
Sources say Toronto and Dallas had talks about Stars potentially flipping No. 7 overall from #SeaKraken in a deal for Matthew Knies to help replace Jason Robertson.
All part of Thursday’s shrapnel.
Jason Robertson turning down $15 million per season reportedly cost the Maple Leafs a top-10 pick
In a wild series of events, the report by Frank Seravalli claims that the Maple Leafs and Stars were in talks to send Knies to Texas for, at least, the seventh-overall pick in Friday’s first round. The problem is, that pick belongs to the Seattle Kraken. Seattle has been trying to acquire a star player, but they’ve been unsuccessful.
Reports continued, saying that Robertson was offered an eight-year contract worth $15 million per season. Robertson blocked the trade to the Kraken, leaving the Stars with no pick to trade to the Leafs and no basis to acquire Knies.
On Friday, Andy Strickland, host for Fanduel Sports Network and the Andy and Strick podcast, reported that the Leafs expect to be done shopping Knies for now. The Leafs went from moving Knies to keeping him in just a matter of hours. That is how quickly rumors have been swirling across the NHL over the past few weeks.
Many still expect the Leafs to be busy ahead of the draft, but the best return for Matthew Knies fell apart because of a player not “involved” in the trade.
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