Western team reportedly getting ready to prepare monster offer for Matthew Knies
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jeremy Rutherford says the St. Louis Blues checked on Matthew Knies and were quoted an exorbitant price.
Whether they will eventually pay that price remains to be seen.
The answer sits in their own draft weekend.
Reports around the 2026 NHL Draft pegged Toronto's starting ask on Knies at a top-10 first-round pick plus NHL-ready talent.
St. Louis could not produce the first half of that sentence, and Doug Armstrong said as much publicly.
"Matthews Knies is another player I'm sure the Blues checked on, but the asking price sounds pretty exorbitant."
- Jeremy Rutherford
- Jeremy Rutherford
Armstrong acknowledged during the draft that the Blues made multiple calls trying to move into the top 10 and came away with nothing.
The McTavish trade spent the exact currency Toronto wanted
On June 27, St. Louis sent the No. 15 pick, originally Detroit's, and the No. 29 pick, originally Colorado's, to the Anaheim Ducks for Mason McTavish.
Those were the only surplus first-rounders the Blues held. Their own two selections went to Tynan Lawrence at No. 11 and Dagenais at No. 16.
By the time anyone dialed Toronto about Knies, St. Louis was shopping with an empty wallet.
Exorbitant was not a valuation argument, it was an inventory problem.
Toronto has no incentive to lower the number
Knies is 23 and posted 23 goals and 43 assists in 79 games last season, signed through 2030-31 at a $7.75 million cap hit.
His contract carries no trade protection for five years, which is why rivals keep calling and why John Chayka can keep quoting a number nobody meets.
The two clubs are not strangers.
Toronto sent Brandon Carlo to St. Louis for picks Nos. 73 and 76 that same draft weekend.
That line is open. It also shows what St. Louis pays when the price fits.
Alexander Steen took over as general manager on July 1 with a roster that missed the playoffs at 37-33-12.
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