The Toronto Maple Leafs have set their asking price for Matthew Knies, and it's steep: a top-10 pick in the 2026 draft.
That's according to Frank Seravalli of Frankly Hockey, who reported that Toronto has made its demands clear to teams calling about the 23-year-old winger.
Frank Seravalli: My belief is if we're going to see Matt Knies [traded], that it's going to involve a top 10 pick coming back, the Leafs have let teams know that they want a top end pick in this 2026 draft.
Think about what that means for a moment. The Leafs finished 28th overall this past season with 78 points, ranked dead last in the Atlantic Division.
They allowed 299 goals. They went minus-46 on the year. And they want premium draft capital to move a player who went minus-30 over 79 games.
Knies' -30 rating raises real questions about the asking price
Knies did put up 66 points this season, 23 goals and 43 assists, so there's offensive production to sell.
But in his last five games, he scored no goals and went minus-8. That stretch tells a different story than the full-season numbers.
His $7.75 million cap hit goes with him in any deal. That's not nothing for a team building toward a contender.
Demanding a top-10 pick for a 23-year-old winger on a struggling team is like asking full retail on a car that came with a broken odometer. The points are there. The defensive liability is too.
Seravalli's report specifically referenced the 2026 draft, which means Toronto is not looking for futures packages or sweeteners.
They want one big chip back.
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Whether any team decides that Knies' offensive ceiling justifies surrendering that kind of pick is the real question hanging over this rumor.
Teams that own top-10 selections are rebuilding. They didn't get there by accident. Parting with that pick to add a player from a 32-win team is a hard sell to any front office.
Toronto's front office clearly believes the production is real and that Knies' age, 23, gives the next team something to build around.
But the Leafs ended the season on a seven-game losing streak, allowed a league-worst 299 goals against, and finished with a -46 differential. Any team kicking the tires on this roster is going to negotiate from that backdrop.
The asking price is set. Now we find out if anyone actually pays it.
Should the Leafs accept less than a top-10 pick to trade Matthew Knies?
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