What Maple Leafs drafting Gavin McKenna means for Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies' future
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What Maple Leafs drafting Gavin McKenna means for Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies' future originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Maple Leafs did what everyone assumed they would do.
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On Friday night, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, they selected Gavin McKenna. That was the easy part.
Now comes the hard part.
Auston Matthews? Matthew Knies? What does the future look like in Toronto?
McKenna in some ways changes everything. The fact that the Leafs lucked into the top spot in the draft via the lottery, and got to draft this Canadian phenom, could matter immensely for the next decade of hockey in Toronto.
He's a winger, too, which most directly impacts Knies. It feels like Knies may have found himself in the trade rumors regardless, but the McKenna addition makes it feel even more probable that he is eventually dealt.
Maybe it's a bit surprising that a Knies trade didn't happen in conjunction with the first round to get another pick or two for Toronto, but that's just the way it goes.
He still could very well be on the move, and it would still be a blockbuster no matter when it happens.
MORE: It's time to ask a serious Matthew Knies question
As for Matthews -- he has seemed all along to want to stick around, as long as Toronto did the right things.
As a center who could end up on the same line with McKenna, he has to be happy with that selection.
If anything, the Maple Leafs have done this offseason well so far, surprising the league by getting Darren Raddysh.
Matthews could still decide he's unhappy, but for now, it seems like he'll be working to figure things out with McKenna.
The future starts now in Toronto.