The Toronto Maple Leafs could be getting ready to finally move on from defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Yes, it’s true that Rielly trade chatter has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now. But it seems like this summer things could finally come to a head.
As insider Jonas Siegel noted in The Athletic, the organization could be working with Rielly’s agent to figure out an exit strategy for the former fifth-overall pick.
“Discussions between John Chayka and Mats Sundin of the Leafs and Rielly’s agent, J.P. Barry, are ongoing about the possibility of Rielly going elsewhere this offseason, according to a league source who was granted anonymity so that he could talk freely.”
The source did not mention that a deal was imminent. And it likely isn’t. It might take a while for the Chayka administration to hammer out a deal and eventually take it to Rielly’s agent for consideration.
That said, this summer has to be the perfect time for the Maple Leafs to trade Rielly. The free-agent market is weak. The only top-notch blueliner to hit the market will be Darren Raddysh. While other veteran blueliners like John Carlson and Jacob Trouba should generate plenty of interest, they’re a bit older and more expensive than most teams would like.
Second, the trade market should heat up. And as that occurs, the Maple Leafs could ride that momentum. Whether or not that actually translates into a significant trade, that’s another story entirely.
Trading Rielly won’t be easy for Maple Leafs
Siegel went into the numerous hurdles the Maple Leafs will need to clear in order to move Rielly. He’s right. The roadblocks facing the Chayka regime could make it virtually impossible to move Rielly.
The biggest roadblock will be the 32-year-old’s full no-movement clause. It won’t matter if a team is willing to give up three first-round picks and a high-end prospect if Rielly isn’t willing to waive.
Plus, even if Rielly were willing to waive his no-trade clause, there’s also the matter of his $7.5 million cap hit for the four seasons. That’s not chump change, especially for a blueliner who’s more like a middle-pairing defenseman at best.
That situation means that the Leafs will either have to take a poor return just to dump his contract on someone else, or eat up some of his contract just to get the deal out the door.
Siegel pointed out that the Chicago Blackhawks retained $2.5 million on Seth Jones, a move that landed them a first-round pick and Spencer Knight. While the Maple Leafs might be inclined to do something like that, it wouldn’t net them a first-rounder.
If anything, eating up a chunk of Rielly’s cap hit would only avoid the Leafs having to pay someone to take Rielly’s contract.
Ultimately, it seems likelier that Rielly stays in Toronto, at least to start the season. Unless there’s a GM ready to panic out there, it’s unlikely that the market for Rielly will heat up this summer.
There’s always the possibility that a team faces a catastrophic injury and needs a replacement urgently. That’s where the Leafs could cash in. In the meantime, it will just be a matter of patience in this affair.
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