Darren Dreger provides a big update on the blockbuster trade involving Matthew Knies and the Canadiens
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Daniel Lucente
Jun 8, 2026 (10:59)
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Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The Darren Dreger report confirming Knies-to-Montreal trade talks sounds like a deal that fell apart.
It was actually a deal that was never meant to close.
Dreger told the Morning Show with McKenna and Starr that conversations between Toronto and Montreal were real, but the Maple Leafs wanted Michael Hage as part of any return.
Montreal said no immediately. That completely changes earlier reports that the deal failed because it was submitted one minute past the trade deadline.
"Yes, there were conversations on Matthew Knies with the Habs, did it ever get close to the finish line? No, it didn't really; Michael Hage would've been a part of that and...it wasn't gonna happen from Montreal's standpoint."
- Darren Dreger
- Darren Dreger
That asking price is the entire story. Brad Treliving did not demand Hage because he expected Kent Hughes to say yes.
He demanded Hage because he needed the league to understand what Knies costs.
A 23-year-old power winger who just posted 66 points on a $7.75 million cap hit through 2031 does not get moved for draft picks and roster players.
He gets moved for a franchise centerpiece or he does not get moved at all.
The asking price was the strategy
When a GM sets a price he knows will be rejected, he is not negotiating. He is benchmarking.
Every team that calls about Knies this summer now hears the same thing - your best untouchable prospect, or hang up the phone.
That is not a failed trade. That is asset management from a first-year GM establishing how the league prices his roster.
Hughes recognized the play immediately. He has drawn the same line from the other side all year.
Pierre McGuire reported this week that any Dylan Larkin deal would also require Hage. Two different teams, two different stars, identical demand.
Hage is now the NHL's universal asking price
The 21st overall pick from 2024 put up 52 points in 39 NCAA games and dominated the World Juniors with 15 points in seven games.
He is returning to Michigan for his junior season, which only increases his value by delaying his availability.
Every GM who calls Montreal gets told the same thing Hughes told Treliving. Hage is the price, and the price is not getting paid.
The Knies conversation was never a negotiation. It was two front offices confirming what they already believed about their own assets.
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Three teams want Dylan Larkin, per Elliotte Friedman, but it ultimately needs his approval
Three teams want Dylan Larkin, per Elliotte Friedman, but it ultimately needs his approval