The Maple Leafs’ long-term picture is already getting messy, and Morgan Rielly sits right in the middle of it.
Rielly is under an eight-year, $60 million contract, but his name keeps surfacing in trade chatter anyway. Reports say Toronto is actively exploring options for the 32-year-old, though nothing has been finalized. There’s also a chance he stays in Toronto next season, which is where Bryan Hayes drew a hard line on a recent OverDrive segment.
“It was just a weird year for everyone. The whole team was bad.
I’m telling you, he’s got game left. If you bring him back and he keeps going south, you can’t sell that anymore.
Like then you’re really tough," said Hayes.
Hayes doubled down on the idea that the Leafs need a reset around Rielly, warning that another rough season could tank whatever value he still has.
"Because if the league right now is saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know about Morgan Rielly,’ and you can’t sell, I’m telling you, there’s game there. He’s just got to get out of here.
He’s just looking for a new scene. If he has a new coach, new lease on life, and he’s just as bad or worse next year, then he becomes an untradeable asset.”
Rielly has been in Toronto for more than a decade after the Leafs picked him No. 5 overall in the 2012 NHL draft. Last season, he finished with 36 points, including 11 goals and 25 assists.
The uncertainty around Toronto’s roster isn’t limited to Rielly. There’s also growing speculation about Auston Matthews and what his next contract could look like.
Matthews is two years into his two-year, $53 million deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2027-28 season. With contract numbers rising across the league, some are already projecting a massive payday. Toronto-based sports analyst and SDPN podcaster Adam Wylde recently said Matthews could be headed for a $20 million AAV.
"This is a player that’s had a lot of injuries. This is a player who’s cresting at 30.
Can you still do it? So that’s why it’s so great for the Leafs this year that he kind of needs to perform.
Right. It might be he’ll still get a $13-14M, $15 million deal, but Auston’s going for $20M," said Wylde.
At the moment, the highest-paid player in the league is Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, who carries an AAV of $18.8 million.
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Maple Leafs Suddenly Face A Tough Blue Line Decision
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Rielly has already taken the unusual step of putting together a list of preferred destinations, which tells you how serious the conversation has become even if nothing has been finalized. Ekman-Larsson also sits in the middle of the discussion as the Leafs consider whether a change on defense comes through trade or another roster adjustment, leaving Toronto with a decision that could reshape the back end before the dust settles. [Read more 🡒]