It’s time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to move on from Morgan Rielly and his $7 million cap hit.
General manager John Chayka will be a very busy man over the course of the next few months, as significant roster changes are expected. Yes, it very likely starts with drafting Gavin McKenna number one overall in a few weeks in Buffalo, however, the one move Chayka needs to ensure for roster, and financial flexibility, is having Rielly waive his no-movement clause to accept an offseason deal.
The longest-tenured Maple Leaf holds all the cards, and it’s not a given at all that Rielly will approve a trade out of Toronto. Him and his family love playing in the city, and it’s very likely that Chayka and Mats Sundin will need to have a crucial conversation with Rielly laced with a stern message that it will be better for both sides to go in different directions. It’s like breaking up with an ex, but since you’ve been together so long, you share the same friend group and keep everything civil.
Rielly’s game has declined the past couple of seasons dramatically, and while he’s still producing offensively at a reasonable clip, it’s his defensive struggles that have been showcased and knit-picked, especially this past season. Rielly was one of the worst defenceman in the league defensively, there’s a ton of numbers to back that up, and he’s quickly become ‘the target’ for Leafs Nation, and this noise is only going to amplify as the struggles continue. It’s best at this point for Rielly to start a new chapter of his career and get a fresh start.
So, the $7-million question becomes, will Rielly waive his no-movement clause, and if so, where exactly would he be open moving his young family? It’s hard to ignore how much of a perfect fit the San Jose Sharks are as a trade partner for the Maple Leafs. They’ve been linked to Rielly for weeks now and are one of the only teams that likely wouldn’t ask Chayka to retain any of Rielly’s cap hit for the remainder of his contract. The Sharks have just two defencemen under NHL contracts for next season, and they have over $40 million in cap space. San Jose isn’t a destination city like Los Angeles is in California, but it’s a lot quieter of a market to play in, which should be music to Rielly’s ears, it’s beautiful year-round weather, and on the ice, the Sharks are one of the best up-and-coming rosters, who need more veteran presence throughout their lineup.
From the Sharks perspective, adding a vet like Rielly on the back end who can eat minutes, is loaded with intangibles from making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for almost a decade straight, while also dealing with the media circus in Toronto, Rielly’s an outstanding mentor for a young Sharks’ roster. For the Maple Leafs sake, let’s hope Rielly and Macklin Celebrini got to spend a lot of time together at the World Championships.
Chayka can create a ton of flexibility moving Rielly
Recently, the Rielly speculation has been brewing, and Chayka shouldn’t be trying to hold a hard bargain in these trade talks. His trade asset is getting older, slower, less productive, and frankly is about $2 million AAV overpaid, so the freshly minted Leafs’ GM needs to worry more about getting Rielly’s contract off the books the next four years, than what exactly is coming back in return.
Chayka can create significant financial flexibility moving off Rielly. It would give the Maple Leafs serious cash to throw at a couple of free agents, who they wouldn’t necessarily be in on if Rielly’s cap hit was on the books. Having almost $30 million in cap space this offseason would give Chayka the resources to contact somebody like Alex Tuch, and also have money left over to be in the running on one of Rasmus Andersson, or Darren Raddysh on the back end.
There’s also the offseason trade route, and even though the Maple Leafs don’t have a ton of assets organizationally that Chayka can dangle in talks, if Rielly’s moved elsewhere, Chayka has the option to take on a year of a bad contract to ensure the return he’s receiving is sweetened with a top prospect, or high draft pick on top of his targetted player. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but having more financial flexibility certainly opens up a box of creativity for Chayka in his first offseason.
Rielly holds all the power. He won’t be traded without his consent and he’s well within his contractual rights to remain a Maple Leaf. Can he have a bounce-back season with more support on the back end? Of course he can. Does the financial flexibility outweigh the potential of that happening? 100%.
Let’s hope San Jose is interested, and let’s hope Rielly is interested in becoming a Shark. If not, if things don’t go as planned next season remaining a Maple Leaf, the ‘noise’ could become deafening for the veteran defenceman.
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