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Insider Suggests Maple Leafs May Explore Trading Top Defenseman for Cap Relief
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton Imagn Images
Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli suggested that the Maple Leafs could explore the trade market on Morgan Rielly due to his large contract and declining play.
After another disappointing playoff exit that culminated in an embarassing 6-1 loss on Sunday, the Leafs have entered an off-season that will come with significant changes.
The first major change came late Thursday afternoon when the Leafs announced that they would not be renewing the contract of President Brendan Shanahan.
The most significant change to come to the roster likely won't officially happen until July 1st with Mitch Marner expected to test free agency.
Unlikely to occur, but another major change, as Frank Seravalli suggested on Wednesday, would be to deal the longest-tenured Leafs player, Morgan Rielly.
"I think it's a real conversation that needs to be had. He's been there longer than anyone. At this point in time, two things stand out. He's not just lost one step, he's probably lost two.
The biggest complaint about Morgan Rielly's game is he's not an effective PP1 quarterback. He's not going to age well. That deal is not going to age well. That term. It's not the dollar, it's the term.
If the Leafs can find one team that has a significant need to upgrade their defense, I think you find a way to explore that and even if your roster isn't as complete next season, you look at next year as a year in transition."
The biggest complaint about Morgan Rielly's game is he's not an effective PP1 quarterback. He's not going to age well. That deal is not going to age well. That term. It's not the dollar, it's the term.
If the Leafs can find one team that has a significant need to upgrade their defense, I think you find a way to explore that and even if your roster isn't as complete next season, you look at next year as a year in transition."
Signed until the end of the 2029/2030 season with a $7.5M cap hit, Rielly struggled mightily at times this season, even forcing Craig Berube to take him off of the top power-play unit in favour of five forwards.
Asked about a potential change of scenery on Tuesday, Rielly did his best to ignore the question.
"That's not what I'm thinking about right now," said the 31-year-old.
With a no-movement clause throughout his deal, trading the 2012 first-round pick will be difficult, especially with the amount of time left on his deal and his declining play.
That being said, he doesn't exactly fit the type of player that GM Brad Treliving prefers to have on his blueline, and it is believed that he and Craig Berube will have a lot more roster control under MLSE CEO Keith Pelley than they did under Shanahan.
| POLL | ||
MAI 24 | 5753 ANSWERS Insider Suggests Maple Leafs May Explore Trading Top Defenseman for Cap Relief Should the Leafs move on from Morgan Rielly? | ||
| Yes | 3811 | 66.2 % |
| No | 1074 | 18.7 % |
| If the deal makes sense | 868 | 15.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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