Blockbuster Morgan Rielly trade hinted at in Toronto!

Ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs’ postseason came to an end, trade rumours have swarmed the city with possible scenarios including forward Mitch Marner and even captain John Tavares.

But according to Matt Larkin of Daily Face-Off, there are only two blockbuster trade options in Toronto and there are Marner and star defenseman Morgan Rielly. Here is how he explains a potential deal for the blue liner:

“Rielly, the longest tenured Leaf, has a deep emotional attachment to the team and its core. He hasn’t been a scapegoat, and he was pretty darn good during the 2022-23 playoffs, but he simply isn’t an all-situations horse who can shut down the other team’s best players. That said, while he isn’t an alpha No. 1 blueliner, he also isn’t paid as one. At $7.5 million, he’s merely the 23rd– richest defenseman in the league. He has a full no-movement clause and is under contract six more seasons. Unlike Marner and Tavares, Rielly didn’t grow up in this market. He’s a Western Canadian. Is there a chance he’d be willing to waive in the event of a trade simply for a fresh start for the second half of his career?”

When asked about what was to come in Toronto during the offseason duing his end of the year press conference, Rielly was probably the most critical of the group and what could come next.

“I don’t want to stand here and try to tell you that we’re on the doorstep of anything because we’re sitting here today doing this,” Rielly said then. “The belief is there that it’s attainable, but there’s work and improvement that has to take place. So, how close are we? I don’t know, we’ll see. It feels both attainable and a ways away and that’s what drives you as an individual. That’s what drives a team forward to either have success or we’ll see.”

This was a rare time fans got a realistic and candid answer from a core member of this team, especially when he spoke about how things played out in Game 7 and that “anything other than a championship is a disappointment.”

Could the answer, for Rielly and the Maple Leafs, be a change of scenery for the longest tenured Leaf? The question is enough to place Rielly as one blockbuster trade option in Toronto this summer.

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