If we were to trade Rielly this offseason (assuming his extension ask has jumped to 8+), which teams might be interested in him, and what could a return look like? I'm looking at teams with a spot at LD for an offense-first guy in his prime. Rebuilding teams aren't interested as he doesn't fit their timeline, while teams with an established top LD don't have room for an expensive 2nd pair guy. This is likely a sign and trade, as the receiving team isn't trading for a rental with the hope that they can extend him, but instead a long term commitment to solidify their LD for the near future. Trading Rielly without an extension probably doesn't net us a whole lot, since leaving the extension to the receiving team poses some significant uncertainty.
Looking at recent defenseman trades as comparables, Jones + #32 went to Chicago in exchange for Boqvist (drafted 8th overall in 2018), #12, and #44. Rielly is not as highly regarded as Jones, so we likely don't get a 1st as well as a top prospect, but a high end prospect and a 2nd or 3rd shouldn't be out of the question when comparing to this trade. Feel free to massage the pick until you feel the value is right. Ristolainen went for a 1st, which is insane, and makes me think we should get three 1sts for Rielly. These teams are listed in order of how good the return is, of course.
They're trying to set up for another kick at the can for their big names, going out and acquiring Danault, Arvidsson, and Edler. However, with a left side depth of Edler, Maatta, and three ELCs, they could definitely use a bigger name. Rielly gives them two top pair guys to spread among the top two pairs and pushes Edler down to third pair. Rielly is probably happy to extend in LA, I mean it's fucking Los Angeles you know? Nice weather, anonymity when out in public.
For a return, I'm targeting one of their many great center prospects, probably Rasmus Kupari if Gabriel Vilardi is off the table (plus I heard he's more a winger now). We could use a real good center prospect, someone who can step into the third line spot in a few years (potentially moving up to 2C after JT rides off ~~into the sunset~~ to Blue Mountain), and Kupari would be a fine addition to our prospect pool. They probably feel they could deal one of their good center prospects because they now have Danault occupying a spot for six years.
