The Writing May be on the Wall as Maple Leafs Reportedly Ask Morgan Rielly to Waive NMC

With the Toronto Maple Leafs looking for change, as well as salary relief, one player that has been under the microscope this summer is defenseman Morgan Rielly.

The long-time Maple Leaf carries a full no-movement clause as well as a cap hit of $7.5 million for the next 5 seasons. The issue with Rielly isn't necessarily with his cap hit as much as it about his diminishing play and full NMC.

There had been some reports of the Maple Leafs kicking tires on defensemen Erik Karlsson and Dougie Hamilton, but for any of that to happen, they would assuredly need to move Rielly, which begins with the defenseman waiving his NMC.

According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, the Maple Leafs have approached Rielly's camp about that possibility but the feedback they have received is that the 31-year-old isn't interested in waiving his NMC at this moment.

At the very least, the Maple Leafs have broached him with the topic, so it's something that both sides are fully aware of. However, as we saw with Mitch Marner earlier in the season, it boils down to the player's willingness to work with the team and it sounds like Rielly will be a Maple Leaf for the foreseeable future.

Rielly potted 7 goals and 41 points in 82 games this past season to go along with a minus-8 rating, 21 PIMs, 131 blocked shots, and 21:23 ATOI. He wound up adding 7 points in 13 post-season contests, while seeing 21:42 TOI but had struggled with his consistency throughout the campaign.

What should give the Leafs some hope for a turnaround season is after they acquired Brandon Carlo, Rielly produced 9 assists and a plus-9 rating in 20 games. That's significant because he was a minus-17 in his previous 62 contests and didn't have his best stuff on the ice.

With Rielly likely returning donning a Blue and White jersey on opening night, the hope is that the veteran will be rejuvenated and that playing with Carlo could bring him back to his elite offensive form that saw him net 68 points in 2021-22.

Still, the fact that he has been asked to waive his NMC, it's a pretty good indicator that he'll be moved sooner or later.