One of the few teams that wanted Morgan Rielly just picked someone else

Morgan Rielly doesn't have a ton of suitors and the main one who wanted him had a choice and decided to pass on the Maple Leafs' longest-tenured player.

The talk about Morgan Rielly's future with the Toronto Maple Leafs has been a hotly debated topic. First, there were talks that he was headed out of town for sure, which was then backtracked when the team couldn't find a deal and sought him out as a part of the lineup. Follow that up with a report that Rielly is certain to be headed out and we have literally no idea.

It would be a great financial move to get rid of Rielly's $7.5-million per year salary and if regression is real and not just a blip on the radar then he is only going to get worse before he gets better and it'll make that contract look even worse.

San Jose preferred Nurse which knocked off Rielly's most likely destination

It's why the team is so desperate to move off his deal, and with the team trying to make other moves and needing to be cap compliant, it's almost a necessity that he's moved. They had a great partner in the San Jose Sharks, and it sounded like he was headed to California.

However, they pivoted and decided to trade for Darnell Nurse instead, and according to Elliotte Friedman; it was a choice between the two. Friedman explained that the Sharks were debating on choosing between Rielly and Nurse, and found that the latter offered a bit more defensively than the former:

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If you're asking about who the better defender is, it's Nurse by far and with the Sharks adding both Michael Kesselring and Jacob Trouba to the fold, their need for offensive help was already figured out.

Granted, the Sharks paid a bit of a heavy price for Nurse as they are taking his entire $9.25-million deal on as well as giving up Shakir Mukhhamadullin as well as Zack Sharp so it wasn't exactly a steal on the Sharks' behalf.

Every move Toronto wants to make depends on a Rielly trade that's getting harder to make

With the Sharks off the board it really does eliminate the chance for Rielly to head out west a lot easier. Anaheim was a team who also had interest but with signing Pavel Mintyukov and dealing with the Leo Carlson situation (and other contracts on top of it), they can no longer afford to bring him in.

There are some other teams like Winnipeg and Seattle, and it seems like any California team is off the block as LA can't afford him after signing Brandt Clarke. But right now, the team is handcuffed to Rielly until they find a suitor.

This could drag on for weeks, and in doing so it would prevent the Maple Leafs from getting those other pieces they need to complete the lineup. $7.5-million can get you a decent player or two and it's clear the team is trying to move away from using Rielly as a top option.

If we are getting into the middle of August without a deal then we could very well see Rielly not dealt at all and part of the lineup with only a strong season a hope for a potential trade; but why deal him away if he's actually being the player we expected?

It's a tough call and right now the longer this drags out, the more desperate Toronto may be to trade him. That isn't how the team has operated so far this offseason but desperate times call for desperate measures, and Toronto needs that money so we'll see what plan they have in mind.

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