NHL analyst Adam Wylde believes the Toronto Maple Leafs could make a bold move this offseason with a buyout.
Toronto is looking to make some major changes this offseason, and Wylde believes the Maple Leafs should look to buyout Morgan Rielly. The star defenseman has four years left on his eight-year, $60 million deal and has been an important player for Toronto.
However, his name has come up in trade rumors, and Wylde wonders if the Maple Leafs will buy him out.
“When you have a no-move, can you be bought out on a no-move? A buyout would save them $5.8 million next year. It’s a lot of years,” Wylde said on SDPN.
Immediately after posing his thought, his co-host Steve Dangle shot it down.
“There’s no way. They are not buying out Morgan Reilly, no way,” Dangle said.
If Toronto does buyout Rielly, it would save the $5.8 million next season and $3.86 million from 2026 until 2030. However, from 2031 until 2035, there would be a $2.13 million cap hit, according to PuckPedia.
Rielly skated in 82 games, recording 7 goals and 34 assists for 41 points. He’s spent his entire 873-game career with the Maple Leafs after being drafted fifth overall in 2012.
Rielly Doesn’t Want to Leave Maple Leafs
Toronto could look to buyout Rielly due to the fact that he has a no-movement clause.
Rielly’s name has come up in trade rumors, but with him having a no-movement clause, he can deny any trade. After the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Florida Panthers, he made it clear he had no desire to leave Toronto.
“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now,” Rielly said at locker cleanout day on May 20.
Instead, Rielly says he wants to help the Maple Leafs get over the hump.
“There’s always change,” Rielly said. “Every summer, every offseason is different. As a player, I think sometimes it’s best not to speculate on what may or may not happen. For us, individually for me, you want to focus on what you can do to come back better.”
Rielly has been a leader for Toronto for years. But, given that his play has taken a step back, it would be wise for the Maple Leafs to try and move on from him.
However, outside of a buyout, Rielly has made it clear he will be part of the Maple Leafs next season.
Maple Leafs GM Likes His Defense
Toronto enters the offseason with major questions about its roster.
Mitch Marner and John Tavares are pending free agents, as the forward group will look much different next year. However, one area of strength is the Maple Leafs blue line, and general manager Brad Treliving is happy with how his blue line made.
“In today’s game, I like the length of our defense, I like the makeup of our defense. We’ve still got to be able to get out of our own end,” Treliving said. “There are things we can do in terms of closing quicker and taking away space. And part of how we play will lend itself to giving up some volume.
“The idea is you’re going to give up a little volume, you’re going to take away the Grade-As, what we think are the most dangerous chances,” Treliving added. “That’s part of what we’ll do in the summer. In today’s game you need to be active. We need to get more offense from our defense. But in terms of personnel, we’ll see. I like the D-corps, but we can’t be rigid.”
Toronto has seven NHL defensemen under contract next season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Analyst Wonders if Maple Leafs Will Buyout Star $60 Million Player appeared first on Heavy Sports.