Chris Johnston<\/a> doesn\u2019t believe anything was particularly close on Knies, but it\u2019s fascinating that a Leafs team that currently sits in the Eastern Conference basement would even contemplate moving a 6-foot-3, 232-pound 23-year-old left winger who had 29 goals last season.<\/p>\n The big question is why?<\/p>\n Even including a four-point game Thursday, Knies has been having a down year, with only 17 goals through 63 games and a lot more pucks entering his own net when he\u2019s on the ice. But he\u2019s a young player who has played through a knee injury<\/a>, on a team where almost everyone is struggling, and his skill set is such that few doubt his long-term potential.<\/p>\n There are two main reasons the Leafs floated his name out there last week, and neither has to do with how much they value Knies.<\/p>\n One: This is an organization that lacks many assets to trade \u2014 as evidenced by our latest prospect pool rankings<\/a> \u2014 and other teams weren\u2019t exactly enamored with their other offerings. That was why Nicolas Roy ended up being dealt to the Avalanche for a first-round pick, why Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton brought in mediocre returns, and why Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo (among others) didn\u2019t go anywhere on deadline week.<\/p>\n Other than for Roy, no one was willing to give up first-rounders or other prized returns for what GM Brad Treliving had on offer. So in order to do something big, which they clearly need right now, introducing higher-value assets into trade talks was necessary to get into more conversations and see what\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n Two: The things the Leafs need to add if they\u2019re going to pull off a retool<\/a> in the offseason are in high demand around the league and incredibly hard to get.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve listened to our recent podcast<\/a>, I\u2019m on the record already<\/a> that I think turning this around in short order is going to be very difficult. Maybe even impossible. Free agency is incredibly low on talent \u2014 and it took another hit with Nick Schmaltz re-signing in Utah earlier this week<\/a> \u2014\u00a0 especially at the positions the Leafs need to improve at.<\/p>\n The No. 1 priority for whoever is running the Leafs this summer is going to have to be fixing the team\u2019s blue line, which has conceded scoring chances at an alarming rate this season. Changing coaches should help<\/a> in that regard, but it\u2019s unmistakable, too, how old, slow and ineffective at moving the puck Toronto\u2019s top six has been, even going back to last year.<\/p>\n The Leafs entire D core, save for pending UFA Troy Stecher, is locked in for next season, with Ekman-Larsson signed another two seasons and greybeards Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe all under contract until 2030. Tanev\u2019s future is hard to discern, given he was limited to just 11 games this season due to multiple injuries, but even if he is healthy, Toronto needs to turn over some of this aging cast and inject more finesse and speed into its top four.<\/p>\n The other biggest need for improvement is going to be up front. John Tavares turns 36 in September, and he\u2019s produced at just a 22-goal, 51-point pace over the past 40 games. He shouldn\u2019t be a mainstay on PP1 or as the team\u2019s second-line center, at least if this organization has dreams of contending. Add in the fact that the Leafs dealt away all three of Roy, Laughton and Fraser Minten over the last 12 months, and they\u2019re clearly going to need reinforcements down the middle.<\/p>\n As with the blue line, impact additions at center are incredibly hard to come by in free agency this year. So how do they get better at those two positions in the next six months? Can they?<\/p>\n Below is the Leafs\u2019 projected lineup for 2026-27, without any free agents (including RFAs Matias Maccelli and Nicholas Robertson) given new contracts.<\/p>\n
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