Canadiens Hypothetically Adding Knies Comes at Great Cost

If not Nick Suzuki’s line on the Canadiens, he could theoretically complement Calder Memorial Trophy-finalist Ivan Demidov on the opposite wing on Line 2. However, it’s worth noting several things at this point, in light of recent reports the mystery deal Habs general manager Kent Hughes had been working on at the trade deadline that fell through was for Knies:

• The Canadiens currently have Alex Newhook, who is coming off a hugely successfully playoffs, in that spot.
• They don’t have a current solution at centre on that line.

More to the point regarding No. 1, the assets it would take to acquire Knies could instead go toward acquiring said centre. Those assets, if you’re to believe initial reports (from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period), include highly touted prospect Alexander Zharovsky, another top prospect not named Michael Hage or David Reinbacher, and two first-round picks.

While Zharovsky represents the only named asset, he is coming off a Kontinental Hockey League rookie-of-the-year season, and thoughts of he and Demidov, who is a good friend (and coincidentally won the award last year), playing together should cause Canadiens fans to salivate. He nevertheless shouldn’t be the focal point here. Obviously, losing Zharovsky would hurt, but to gain something valuable you typically need to give up something significant.

Glossing over that second top prospect in the reported trade, the two first-round picks should maybe be a bridge too far for the Canadiens to cross, after having just given up two (and forward Emil Heineman) at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (Viktor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson at Nos. 16 and 17) to acquire defenseman Noah Dobson.

A Knies-to-Have, Not a Must

It’s not that Hughes shouldn’t give up assets like that under absolutely zero circumstances, but that he must be extremely judicious about doing so. As an extremely valuable right-handed defenseman, Dobson was a justifiable acquisition at that price. As a winger, Knies arguably wouldn’t be. Granted, all else being equal, the Canadiens should love the idea of ever being lucky enough to get the forward in their lineup. However, in a world where they just reached Round 3, having to play bottom-six-centre Jake Evans in the top six with Demidov due to a lack of depth down the middle, Knies isn’t a priority.

For the sake of argument, consider the context of when Knies would have been acquired. If reports are accurate, and with them having been confirmed by multiple sources they likely are, it seems like Hughes had been looking to acquire the forward to bolster his ranks for the postseason. Well, even if the Canadiens fell well short of the Stanley Cup, they capped off a successful season with an incredible run to Round 3 that should instill faith in the future for what was the youngest team in the NHL to start the season.

All on their own, they should organically improve in 2026-27, at least in the standings. While the playoffs are a different animal and Knies probably would have contributed (even if he did go pointless in the final four games of the Maple Leafs’ final series against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs), it shouldn’t be a question of how far they maybe could have gotten with him. Everyone within the organization should now focus on how far they were able to get without him, and then address other needs instead.

Leafs Likely to Move on; Canadiens Should too

In other words, the Canadiens should move on, despite Hughes’ suggestions at the time that they would try to revisit the trade in the offseason, seeing as it reportedly only fell through because the paperwork didn’t get filed in time ahead of the deadline. It is probably even a moot point, because the Maple Leafs obviously replaced their GM at the time in Brad Treliving with John Chayka, who should be under no moral or professional obligation to honour the trade in question. It’s hard to envision Chayka entertaining the trade too, because it may be from an especially appetizing one for him, as he seeks to ingratiate himself with the Leafs fan base.

To offer some perspective from their side of things, giving up a young, productive winger with size for a bunch of futures, who may or may not pan out is a hard sell, even if your team should be undergoing a rebuild. And, while from the Canadiens’ perspective, it would have been a good trade in principle, seeing as not too long ago they justifiably gave up a late first-round pick and an early second (and prospect Gianni Fairbrother), coincidentally for Newhook, it would have been the wrong trade here.

Those first-round picks are likely to gain in equivalency relative to early second-round picks, as the Canadiens continue to improve. So, why not dangle them in the future? There’s no good reason not to, unless of course the asset(s) coming back the other way fail to address a pressing need to help push them over the top. That’s just common sense.