Major Trade Target Could Take Morgan Rielly to the Next Level

The Toronto Maple Leafs have an extremely important offseason this year. After making it into the second round of the NHL Playoffs, the team was manhandled by the Florida Panthers.

The Leafs will need to address what they plan to do with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, as well as sort out the decisions between the pipes with Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.

Addressing the defensemen situation should also be a major priority for the 2023-2024 season.

More specifically the Maple Leafs should look at Noah Hanifin.

The 26 year old would be an affordable and valuable defensemen for the Leafs next season. Hanifin would be another strong defender to support the efforts of Morgan Reilly.

Bringing in Hanifin would allow for Morgan Reilly to become more offensive as seen in years past and not be so heavily relied upon to be he #1 Defensemen.

The more productivity that Reilly brings the more of an asset he becomes for the club. Signing Hanifin would make the leafs backend look something like:

Hanifin/Brodie
Rielly/Liljegren
McCabe/Timmins
Giordano

Adding Hanifin to the lineup allows for both men to play significant roles while not taking the full weight of the defensive core on their back. The resigning of Luke Schenn would be the icing on the cake.

As Read on - Maple Leafs Daily - The Leafs acquiring Noah Hanifin would be the best thing to ever happen to Morgan Rielly in Toronto.