Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Urgent Questions Ahead of Regular Season

No. 2: Will Reilly Sign an Extension?

The longest reigning Toronto Maple Leafs player is Morgan Rielly but will be able to say that when the 2022-23 season starts?

Reilly is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of this season, and it’s a little troubling that the team hasn’t signed him to an extension yet.

What are they waiting for?

The idea of trading Rielly was always more hypothetical than realistic during the regular season, because you’re not going to find many better players at his price tag for the 2021-22 season. With a $5M cap-hit, Rielly is not only a legitimate top-four NHL defenseman, but he’s a leader for this team.

There are only two scenarios that will happen with Rielly this year: He will walk as a free agent, or the team will sign him to an extension.

The salary cap may not be going up anytime soon, but Rielly deserves a contract between $6M-6.5M, so if both sides can come to an agreement in that price-tag for the next five-to-seven years, I think everyone will be happy. Rielly is only 27-years-old, so a long-term extension won’t be the worst decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he’ll still be a valuable asset at the end of it.

Either way, letting the season play out without an extension is a terrible decision for both parties, as media members will continue to ask that question until it happens. This team doesn’t need any other distractions, so let’s hope they can come to an agreement sooner than later.