Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan RiellyAs the longest-serving Toronto Maple Leaf, no player has seen more of the drama and playoff failures surrounding this team in the Auston Matthews Era than Morgan Rielly. Now in his 13th year in the Blue & White, the 31-year-old defenseman still has four years to run after this one on his $7.5 million cap hit. 

But he is simply not the same player that the Leafs handed that eight-year, $60 million deal to back in 2021. The team would like to turn the page and move on from Rielly, but his full no-move clause could get in the way of that. 

Nevertheless, insider David Pagnotta told Jeff Marek on The Sheet that the team will do its best to try to convince Rielly that a change is best for all involved. Sooner or later.

I think they’re going to have a conversation with Morgan Rielly. I don’t think it’s going to be now, though I could be wrong. I think it’s going to be when the season concludes that they are going to go back to Morgan Rielly, and say, ‘We’ve got to do something bold here, will you consider a move?’…

I think that’s something that will eventually happen; if they miss the playoffs then that’s likely to happen in the summer. But he controls it, so they could ask him and he could say no. I believe they had a loose conversation at the end of last season about it that obviously didn’t lead to anything. 

Rielly reached his pinnacle as an offensive defenseman back in 2018-19 (yes, that was a long time ago) when he potted 20 goals and had 72 points. He slowed down for the next couple of years, then posted a 68-point season in 2021-22 with a career-high 58 assists and 23:44 of average ice time per game. 

His last year of something even resembling a No. 1 D-man (which some question if he’s ever really been) came in 2023-24, when he handed out 51 assists with 58 points. It’s been a steep drop-off in the couple of seasons since then, and Toronto would dearly like to reshape its blueline by bringing in a more impactful puck-carrying top-pairing, power play quarterback kind of weapon. 

Rielly has resisted the suggestion of moving on in the recent past; we’ll have to see if that changes this year. 

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