Morgan Rielly is still wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater heading into the final week of August, and that says something on its own.
That's supposed to be the surprise here. Rielly wanted a fresh start. Toronto, at least publicly, never fought him on it.
The Leafs finished 32-36-14 this season, 28th overall in the league. A number that should scare everyone in the front office.
Toronto closed the year on a seven-game losing streak and went 2-7-1 over its final ten games. Nobody survives that stretch quietly.
Jim Hiller wasn't behind the bench for any of it. He was hired in June, inheriting a roster that badly needed subtraction.
Rielly, at 32, sits right in the middle of that conversation. He's still owed $7.5 million a season on the books.
He still put up 36 points this year on 11 goals and 25 assists, respectable numbers for a veteran defenseman still logging heavy minutes.
Darnell Nurse's San Jose trade complicates Rielly's price tag
He also finished at a minus-18 rating on a blue line that leaked goals against all season long.
Darnell Nurse already got moved this summer, landing with the San Jose Sharks on a $9.25 million cap hit. That deal already reset the market for veteran defensemen.
So why hasn't something close to that happened for Rielly yet?
Fit matters here. So does term. Whatever the holdup is, nobody has stepped up with an offer strong enough for Toronto to pull the trigger.
Holding onto Rielly out of habit instead of hockey sense would be a bad look for a front office trying to reset the whole operation.
It's starting to resemble a house that's sat on the market too long. Every extra week on the listing makes the eventual price look worse.
Hiller inherits this situation without ever having coached Rielly for a single game. How he uses him early will say plenty about where this is headed.
Rielly's last five games told a quieter story too, one goal, no assists, and a minus-3 stretch to close out the year.
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Training camp opens in a matter of weeks. If Rielly is still skating in Toronto by then, this stops being a rumor and starts being the plan.
Should the Maple Leafs move Morgan Rielly before training camp opens?
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