Morgan Rielly trade rumors have gone quiet, and the Toronto Maple Leafs look ready to open camp with him still on the roster.
Not long ago this felt inevitable. Rielly struggled through a tough season, new general manager John Chayka took over, and the widely held belief was a trade was coming.
Rielly finished last year with 36 points on 11 goals and 25 assists across 78 games, and he closed the year at a minus-18 rating.
The Maple Leafs themselves stumbled to the finish, going 32-36-14 for 78 points, ranked 28th overall, and dropping their final seven games in a row.
Chayka reportedly approached Rielly about a trade, and the veteran defenceman gave him a list of four approved destinations, all reportedly in the Western Conference.
But Rielly never asked out. He and his family have made Toronto home, and he holds a full no-movement clause through next July that puts him fully in control.
Jim Hiller takes over behind the Toronto bench this year, hired in June, giving both the front office and the coaching staff fresh eyes on this roster heading into camp.
Second pair with Chris Tanev could revive Rielly's season
Rielly isn't projected for top-pair minutes this fall. That job goes to Darren Raddysh, who quietly put up 70 points last season on a $975,000 cap hit, and Jake McCabe.
Instead, expect Rielly paired with Chris Tanev, when healthy, on the second unit. Tanev played just 11 games last season and carries a $4,500,000 cap hit at age 36.
That's a lighter workload with better matchups, and frankly, it's the smarter setup for Rielly than anything Chayka could have gotten in return on the trade market right now.
Rielly won't see top power-play time either. Raddysh and his heavy shot get first crack there, pushing Rielly to a second unit with less pressure attached.
Sportsbooks looked at San Jose, Vegas and Vancouver as possible fits, but none of those teams have shown real appetite or cap flexibility to make a Rielly deal work.
Anaheim's situation shifted too, with Leo Carlsson now making $18 million against the cap, leaving the Ducks with roughly $9 million in space and a defenceman need they can't easily fill.
Chayka has also made clear the Leafs won't retain salary or sweeten a deal just to move Rielly, which narrows the market to almost nothing.
Rielly's set to captain a team at the Hockey Night in Brampton charity event on Aug. 19, so he'll be in town, and by all appearances, staying there.
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None of that guarantees anything past opening night. If Toronto stumbles again, Chayka can widen the trade list and revisit this before March's deadline, and that conversation won't feel finished.
Should the Maple Leafs have traded Morgan Rielly this summer instead of waiting?
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