A surprising new team has emerged as the favorite to land Morgan Rielly

Morgan Rielly trade speculation just got fresh life, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are right in the middle of it again.

Chris Johnston said Thursday, on his own show, that Anaheim still makes sense for the veteran defenseman.

That is not a random name. Johnston has floated the Ducks connection before, and he says Rielly would be willing to play there.

Toronto just finished a season nobody in that locker room wants to remember. The Leafs closed at 32-36-14, a -46 goal differential and a 28th place overall ranking.

They lost seven straight to end it. That skid changes conversations that used to be theoretical.

Rielly, 32, put up 11 goals and 25 assists for 36 points over 78 games this season, with a minus-18 rating. Those numbers used to look a lot better for a 7,500,000 dollar cap hit.

His last 10 games told a similar story. Two goals, one assist, three points is not the kind of finish that quiets trade chatter.

Why Anaheim keeps coming up in this conversation

Anaheim is not some rebuilding mess desperate for a stopgap. Under Joel Quenneville, the Ducks finished 43-33-6 for 92 points, third in the Pacific Division.

That is a real jump from where this franchise has been. And it puts them in position to add rather than simply collect futures.

Rielly actually saw Anaheim twice this season. Toronto won both meetings, 6-4 at home in March and 5-4 on the road later that month.

None of that changes the calculus for a possible trade. Two wins over a team does not erase what a -18 rating says about fit at 5-on-5.

Would Pat Verbeek give up real assets for a defenseman on the wrong side of 30, still owed big money for his prime years? That is the real question here.

Nothing here is finalized, and nobody close to Rielly has confirmed a request out of Toronto. But when a name like Johnston keeps repeating a destination, it usually means somebody is dialing.