Veteran Maple: TheĀ Toronto Maple LeafsĀ have had a down start to the season and there is cause for concern. There have been trade rumors surrounding players like Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson since the summer or before, but now one of the insiders has started to hear an interesting big name making the rounds.
David Pagnotta said, “The one guy that I started to hear his name over the last week, and it might just simply be nothing out of this one, Toronto Maple because he has a full no move, but Morgan Rielly.”
This isn’t the first time Rielly has been mentioned in some trade rumors as he isn’t the same player that put up 68 points in 2021-22 and finished 11th in Norris Trophy voting, or the player that recorded 20 goals and 72 points in 2018-19 and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting. His production is down, his physicality is way down, and his ice time has fallen with different additions combined with him being less effective.
Despite Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev, many still believe that Rielly is the number one defenseman on the Maple Leafs, and they may be right, except he doesn’t play shorthanded, Ekman-Larsson is just as effective offensively, and Tanev is better defensively. Rielly is the highest paid among the defensemen with four more years remaining at $7.5 million AAV.
Not only would it be difficult to move that money for that many remaining years, but Rielly has a full no-move clause for this year and two more years, having his Toronto Maple contract open up to a 10-team no-trade clause for his final two years. But if Rielly accepts a move to a different competitive team for one reason or another, it is entirely possible. It is believed that it’s time for a change of scenery for him.
Moving most of that money would make a difference in getting either one better defenseman or a couple of pieces to help the team in general. While it’s unlikely he moves, crazier things have happened and it’s not exactly going great for the Maple Leafs this season.
