Morgan Rielly's trade market took a hit Friday night, and the Maple Leafs are running out of realistic landing spots.
Insider Chris Johnston said Thursday he still expects Rielly to be moved, but he flagged one suitor that's officially gone.
The Sharks, according to Johnston, are off the board.
Why? San Jose already filled its need on the back end, and did it twice.
The Sharks traded for Darnell Nurse, a $9,250,000 cap hit who put up 24 points in 82 games this year.
Then they signed Jacob Trouba, who posted 35 points in 81 games and carries an $8,000,000 hit of his own.
That's two right-shot veteran defensemen added to a roster that finished 39-35-8 under Ryan Warsofsky. San Jose doesn't need a third.
Chris Johnston: Re Morgan Rielly/Maple Leafs: I still expect him likely to be moved, I know there's still hope that it can happen; the Sharks went off the board as a possibility...when they traded for Darnell Nurse and signed Jacob Trouba.
Rielly's own numbers complicate the sell
Rielly put up 36 points in 78 games this season, 11 goals and 25 assists, but he finished at a minus-18.
Over his last 10 games he managed just 3 points and sat at minus-1, hardly the kind of stretch that drives up trade value.
Toronto, meanwhile, is in freefall. The Maple Leafs sit 28th overall at 32-36-14, riding a seven-game losing streak with a minus-46 goal differential.
Moving a $7,500,000 defenseman off a last-place team was never going to be easy. Now the buyer's pool just got smaller.
Johnston still believes there's hope a deal gets done, and that's the part worth holding onto here.
But hope isn't a market. Every team that fills its blue line the way San Jose just did is one less phone call for Toronto to make.
Trying to trade an aging, high-cap defenseman off a bad team is a bit like selling a used car with a check-engine light on. Buyers exist, but they're picky, and they know they hold the leverage.
Is Toronto's front office prepared to eat term or retain salary just to get a deal across the line? That question hasn't been answered publicly.
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What Johnston's report does confirm is the pool of teams willing to take on Rielly's full contract is shrinking, not growing, as the offseason moves along.
Should the Maple Leafs retain salary just to finally move Morgan Rielly?
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