The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the busiest teams this off-season, and the organization could have seen even more activity with their team, with defenseman Morgan Rielly still potentially being a trade piece.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman provided an update on where the Maple Leafs stand with Rielly's situation and what the team is expecting in the process of potentially dealing the veteran to another team.

On the final edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast of the season, Friedman reported that the Maple Leafs aren't interested in giving up more assets than they feel they need to in a Rielly trade.

"I heard that Toronto told people they're not paying a big price to move him," Friedman said. "If it's something they consider too much of a sweetener, they won't do it."

Rielly carries a $7.5-million salary cap hit for the next four seasons, and attached to that agreement is a no-movement clause to see out the rest of his contract, according to puckpedia.com.

The 32-year-old has had a couple of cold campaigns the past two years under former head coach Craig Berube. With that, there's a sense that it could be time for a change of scenery for Rielly, as he hasn't played up to the standard of his contract.

Friedman noted that he has reported before that the Maple Leafs could keep Rielly, but he's also seen other reports indicating that the player wants to move on. But regardless of where the organization or Rielly stands in this situation, Toronto will not overpay for the defenseman's departure.

Typically, when a player is paid a salary that does not meet their performance on the ice, if that team wants to move on from that player, they add an additional asset of some sort to the receiving team for the trouble of taking on the contract of the underperforming player.

A similar example to this scenario occurred on July 1 when the Edmonton Oilers traded away defenseman Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks. Nurse carries a $9.25-million cap hit on what is deemed one of the worst active contracts in the NHL.

In return, the Oilers received D-men Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zachary Sharp. Mukhamadullin, 24, hasn't had much experience in the NHL, playing a total of 83 games on a mostly uncompetitive Sharks team. As for Sharp, he's a 21-year-old who is yet to step into professional hockey.

That's the kind of return a team trying to part ways with a bad contract would normally get. Sometimes, it's even less of a useful return.

However, in Rielly's circumstances, his salary cap hit isn't blown out of proportion considering his role on the Maple Leafs, as well as where the salary cap stands going into the 2026-27 campaign.

Therefore, Friedman also shared that Toronto is in a position to keep him in the lineup for next season if need be.

"If Rielly comes back, they'll try to make it work for him," the NHL insider said. "I think they feel that with a new approach and maybe a bit of a different role, that could help him."

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