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Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly has 'writing on the wall' in trade update originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Morgan Rielly still has $30 million to be paid out on his contract over the next four years.
Given his regression, that's a tough total for any team to want to pay, but it really seems like the Toronto Maple Leafs don't plan to stick around and shell it all out.
Instead, they may look to trade him, a situation where they'd surely have to retain some of his salary but would also offload much of it to another team.
Rielly has a no-movement clause, making things even a bit more difficult, but it feels like a move is still coming sooner rather than later.
The Athletic's Chris Johnston certainly thinks so. He ranked Rielly No. 5 on his offseason trade big board which came out on Thursday.
"With a new management group running the front office and a new coaching staff soon to be hired, this is a time of change in Toronto," Johnston writes. "That means the writing is on the wall for Rielly, the Leafs’ longest-tenured player, who has previously been unwilling to consider waiving his no-movement clause but has since softened on that stance. He still controls the process because of that mechanism in his contract, but a fresh start is looking increasingly likely."
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Johnston also points out that Rielly is more than a total zero. There are reasons that a team would still want to acquire him, even if the contract is a bit hefty and he's no longer the peak version of himself as a player.
"While Rielly’s skating isn’t the separator it once was, he possesses strong puck skills and can help drive a team offensively," Johnston writes. "He’s also a high-character player who should be viewed as a dressing room asset."
The reality is that the Leafs need to find a way to start fresh in some spots, and given Rielly's bumpy performances in this past season, his spot in the salary books might be a good place to start.
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