Maple Leafs Reportedly Explored Trade With Morgan Rielly: Source
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
According to NHL analyst Nick Kypreos, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Morgan Rielly have had some preliminary discussions regarding a potential trade.
With a lot of talk about potential trades for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a lot of it centers around who the team is expected to bring in, and they have been linked to some big names for both their top-six and the blueline.
But there's also a lot of chatter about which faces are going to head out of town, and the usual names like David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok are being thrown around but so far, nothing has come of it.
Morgan Rielly and Maple Leafs talking trade
One player in the news recently as well is Morgan Rielly, who has been the focus of trade rumors, with a new report showing that the team has talked to him about waiving his no-movement clause; the main roadblock in a deal.
But according to NHL analyst Nick Kypreos, speaking on the FAN Pregame Show, he mentioned both camps have been in discussions, and while there may be some smoke; it's not a guarantee whatsoever:
I do believe there has been conversation directly or indirectly around Morgan Rielly and his camp and whether they would be open in terms of listing the no movement clause. The feedback I get is not that this particular time.
We see it in different various players and teams, players want to respect that, I have no doubt in my mind that Morgan Rielly will start in training camp unless something changes dramatically, but he'll still remain on my board.
I don't think the Morgan Rielly story will go away, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
We see it in different various players and teams, players want to respect that, I have no doubt in my mind that Morgan Rielly will start in training camp unless something changes dramatically, but he'll still remain on my board.
I don't think the Morgan Rielly story will go away, but we'll have to see how it plays out.
If Kypreos is to be believed, is a Morgan Rielly deal actually possible?
Toronto going to need a miracle to trade Morgan
While it would certainly change the DNA of the team to get rid of their longest-tenured player, and one who has been through everything from their best to their absolute worst, it's not going to be easy.
Rielly, 31, has 513 points in 843 career games with the Maple Leafs since being drafted 5th overall in 2012 and while he's been fantastic; getting him dealt is a whole different story regardless of his accomplishments.
First off, Rielly needs to waive his no-movement clause and decide he wants to move on, and unless he has a complete turnabout face in the next two months, he'll be on the team come October.
Secondly, he'd have to want to leave (and he's adamant he wants to stay), and then he may only have one or two teams he wants to go to, and then they need to see if they are even interested; and the return has to be worth it too.
Okay, we've found a place Rielly wants to go to, and they're interested. Great! Now do they have enough cap room for his $7.5-million contract?
Toronto can't really take any salary on, and they aren't going to get rid of two or three players to make room for salary retention; sure they have three open slots but is that money better spent elsewhere?
It's a lot of hoop jumping, and while we've seen some wild trades happen before, this one seems to have too many logistics involved.
While Kypreos is going to keep an eye on Morgan Rielly all year (as we all should) don't expect him to head into his 13th season in anything but blue and white.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 16 | 1506 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Reportedly Explored Trade With Morgan Rielly: Source Do you think Toronto should trade Morgan Rielly? | ||
| Yes | 1060 | 70.4 % |
| No | 446 | 29.6 % |
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