Morgan Rielly’s future with the Maple Leafs is still hanging in the balance, and the next stretch could decide whether he gets one more crack in Toronto or gets moved before the season starts.
The situation has turned into a strange waiting game. Toronto already gave Rielly a chance to rebound, and that didn’t really change the conversation.
Trade rumors followed, but nothing came together, and for a while he still looked like part of the lineup. Then came word that he is expanding his options while the Maple Leafs remain intent on trading him before the season begins.
That leaves Toronto with a decision to make on its longest-tenured player. If the Leafs do move him, it will likely come after they sort out where he wants to play and what kind of return they can get.
Rielly is still a useful player, but the source material makes clear he is no longer suited to be a #1 defender. He fits better on a second or even third pairing.
There is still a path where he works in Toronto, though it depends on role and support. The idea is simple: put him in a spot that matches what he actually does well.
Rielly is a strong puck-mover, and he can help the attack by pinching, even if that has drawn criticism. The issue, as presented here, is that the team never really gave him the kind of help that would let him thrive in that role.
Brandon Carlo was supposed to be that answer, but that did not pan out.
With the addition of Darren Raddysh, there is at least a way to move Rielly down the lineup. The piece points to Jake McCabe moving up instead, which would break up the Tanev/McCabe pairing. If the goal is to give Rielly more defensive cover, Chris Tanev is the obvious fit to help absorb some of the pressure and mask some of the shortcomings.
Jim Hiller’s job, according to the source, is to understand exactly what Rielly still brings. He can still be an offensive weapon, but only if he has help around him. A second-unit role, potentially with Oliver Ekman-Larsson alongside him, would lighten the load offensively and give Toronto a more capable defender next to him if things get messy.
Still, the leash is short. If Rielly starts slowly, or if he turns into one of those streaky players who flashes early and then goes quiet for 20 games, Toronto may not wait around. The article is blunt about that: the Leafs have no more patience left to keep hoping next year will be different.
If he gets off to a bad start, Toronto would need to tell him where things stand and give him a chance to improve his value elsewhere. Even if he puts up decent numbers - something in the 30-35 point range by the deadline - that may not be enough if the defensive play slips again. At that point, the message would be simple: he has to show up.
After more than a decade with the organization, Rielly remains an upstanding human being and a solid hockey player. But the source makes the case that he is no longer doing the job Toronto needs from him, and a rough start would only push him closer to leaving the only NHL team he has ever known.
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