The Toronto Maple Leafs have been anything but a consistent club this season, the second season under head coach Craig Berube and the first season in nearly a decade without forward Mitch Marner, who is now with the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was one of the biggest foundational changes that the Maple Leafs have experienced in recent years, and it officially signaled the end of the “Core Four” era of Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and William Nylander all together with the same time. Unfortunately for the Leafs, that era of hockey produced a total of two postseason series victories and zero Stanley Cup wins.
Now, a noted NHL Insider is suggesting that the Maple Leafs may soon have to consider moving on from another core piece who happens to be the longest-tenured member of the roster.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly, who has patrolled the Toronto blue line since 2013 after the Maple Leafs made him their opening round (fifth overall) selection in the 2012 NHL Draft, could be a candidate to be moved if general manager Brad Treliving opts for more moves.
In the mind of TSN’s Bryan Hayes, it’s a move that Treliving should explore further, especially if the Maple Leafs once again fail to earn any kind of meaningful postseason success this season.
“If this keeps going south, then you do have to talk about it at the trade deadline, and you absolutely have to explore it in the offseason,” Hayes said. “He’s just been here for so long, he’s so comfortable… He’s been a great Maple Leaf, but if this is the end of a 10-year era where they finally miss the playoffs, and they do have to re-tool, I think you have to go to the longest-standing Maple Leaf and express the need for change… Not right now, maybe by the trade deadline if it keeps going south, if they miss the playoffs, undoubtedly you’ve got to move off of Morgan Rielly in the summer.”
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Morgan Rielly is In The Midst of An Eight-Year Contract With the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs decided that Rielly was a foundational piece to build around, and they made that clear when they offered him an eight-year, $60 million contract that he accepted in 2021.
His salary cap hit of $7.5 million may make him difficult to move unless Toronto agreed to retain a portion of his salary as a sweetener.
Rielly recently passed the 900-games played threshold, and is the longest-tenured current member of the team. So far this season, Rielly has managed five goals while adding 19 assists, but his subpar minus-eight rating leaves plenty to be desired from the club’s top and most visible defenseman.
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The Maple Leafs Underwent A Massive Change This Past Offseason
The hypothetical trade of Rielly would be the second major subtraction from the Maple Leafs in recent memory, following in the footsteps of the sign-and-trade deal of Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It would also essentially serve as an admission not only by Treliving but by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment that they didn’t field the correct players in their attempt to end their lengthy Stanley Cup drought, which dates back to 1967, the final year in which there were only six total NHL teams.
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