Devils ‘Serious’ Interest in Promising Leafs Forward | Report

We knew that if the New Jersey Devils were going to do anything at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, it would have been an all or nothing type of deal. It wound up being the latter, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t try. According to a report, the Devils showed “serious interest” in Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies.

In his latest written 32 Thoughts the blog, Elliotte Friedman named the Devils as one of several teams who sought to acquire Knies, a name many didn’t expect to hear as being available. Friedman writes : “Teams that showed serious interest in Matthew Knies included Anaheim, Chicago, Montreal, New Jersey and Utah. Everyone has denied that the Canadiens went far down the road, but … we’ll see.

There were some teams who didn’t believe the Maple Leafs were serious about it, but now recognize the possibility. ” Earlier in the season, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald was adament he wanted to add to the Devils’ forward group. “I’d like to add up front,” Fitzgerald explained.

“I want to continue to give more depth. I think the entire league is probably looking for the same thing. You can figure it out.