Morgan Rielly is still a Maple Leaf this morning. According to Nick Kypreos, that's mostly because nobody else wanted him.
Kypreos reported Thursday on Sportsnet that Toronto tried to move the veteran defenseman over the summer. The market came back empty.
No lowball offer. The rest of the league looked at a 32-year-old blue liner carrying a $7.5 million cap hit and kept walking.
It's like listing your house in a hot market and getting zero showings. At some point, the problem stops being the buyers.
The production explains part of the silence. Rielly has no goals through 12 games, with 8 assists and a -4 rating.
Kypreos added that he could still be moved if Toronto lands another defenseman, likely folded into a bigger trade. That's the only door left open.
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Darren Raddysh's contract is squeezing Rielly out of the spotlight
Darren Raddysh carries an $8.5 million cap hit and has already picked up 3 power-play assists. The veteran has one.
So what exactly is Toronto paying for? Right now, it's a second puck mover who isn't scoring or driving the man advantage.
And here's where it gets awkward. Jim Hiller can't exactly park him in the press box, because Chris Tanev is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Tanev isn't expected back until at least Oct. 31. That leaves the coaching staff leaning on a blue line where Oliver Ekman-Larsson has one point in 12 games.
The Leafs did beat the Rangers 5-4 on Thursday night for their third straight win. Rielly logged 20:58, picked up an assist and put 3 shots on goal.
Over his last five games, he has 4 assists. That's a pulse, at least.
But a pulse doesn't move a contract when the whole league already passed once. Toronto sits at 6-4-2, fourth in its division, with no room for anyone to tread water.
Here's the part that bugs me. Shopping him again right now would be a bad idea, plain and simple.
You'd be selling a defenseman at the absolute bottom of his market while a veteran partner sits on IR. That's how a team ends up attaching assets just to say goodbye.
The smarter play is uncomfortable. Ride it out, give him minutes, and hope a few strong weeks change the math for somebody.
The first real test comes Saturday in Edmonton, against an Oilers team sitting at 8-1-1. It opens a four-game western road trip through Calgary, Seattle and Vancouver.
Play well out west, and maybe a phone finally rings. Play poorly, and the Leafs are stuck holding a contract nobody wants, with a blue line that still can't afford to lose him.
Should the Maple Leafs attach a sweetener just to get Morgan Rielly's contract off the books?
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Mock trade: Elias Pettersson to the Canadiens for Kirby Dach, two prospects and two firsts
