For what seems like a possible end for Morgan Rielly's career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, conversations between the defenseman and GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin are reportedly "ongoing."
Morgan Rielly's future with the Toronto Maple Leafs remains to be seen.
With a couple of underperforming seasons, both under coach Craig Berube, it could be the end of Rielly's time in Toronto, as both the front office of GM John Chayka and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin, and Rielly may mutually agree that it's time to part ways.
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic recently reported on where the process between Rielly and the Leafs stands. Judging from the report, it appears that there are real conversations taking place between the team's longest active tenured player and the Maple Leafs' brass.
"Discussions between John Chayka and Mats Sundin of the Leafs and Rielly’s agent, J.P. Barry, are ongoing about the possibility of Rielly going elsewhere this offseason," league sources told Siegel.
Rielly, 32, is entering the fifth year of his eight-year contract and earns $7.5 million against the salary cap. More importantly, regarding his current contract, the veteran defenseman has a no-move clause for the rest of his deal. That's why a conversation between the Leafs organization and the player's representatives is required - Rielly has the final say in what happens to him and where he goes.
This report from Siegel comes a couple of weeks after TSN's Darren Dreger said that the Maple Leafs were going to approach Rielly sometime after his campaign at the 2026 World Championship concluded.
In that tournament, Rielly played 10 games and provided three assists for Team Canada, who went on to finish fourth.
With the Maple Leafs, Rielly's totals from last season highlighted a notable decrease in production from the back end. He registered 11 goals and 36 points in 78 games for Toronto. That's his lowest since the shortened 2020-21 season, when he put up 35 points in 55 appearances.
Not to mention, his plus-minus rating has been for quite some time. His minus-18 rating is his lowest in a season since 2016-17, when he recorded a minus-20.
With this obvious recession, it's clear why Rielly and the team may be open to a change in scenery for the franchise's seventh-most-capped player in its history.
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