3 Morgan Rielly Trade Destinations Beyond San Jose

Recent trade talk around Morgan Rielly has been as loud and as real as we’ve ever seen during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His underwhelming play this season, combined with the team’s latest short stint of success without him, has only fueled the chatter—and it’s safe to say it isn’t going away anytime soon.

From a $7.5 million cap hit to a full no-movement clause, there are plenty of obstacles standing in the way of GM Brad Treliving trading the longest-tenured Maple Leaf. As a result, very few suitors have emerged for Rielly, though one that has gained some traction of late is the San Jose Sharks.

San Jose makes a lot of sense as a landing spot, but if Toronto is truly ready to move on from its longtime number-one defenseman, they’ll need to explore other possibilities across the league. With that in mind, let’s look at three other plausible trade destinations for Rielly—either before the deadline or, the more likely scenario, in the offseason.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks will forever be connected to Rielly, the Vancouver, BC native. At times, making a move for the hometown kid has made sense for the Canucks, while other times it’s been unrealistic. Many will argue that now is not the time, given that the team is just starting a rebuild, but that could actually work in their favor in terms of ability and willingness to make such a trade.

While they’re currently tight to the salary cap, Vancouver is expected to continue its sell-off in the coming weeks, with the likes of Jake DeBrusk ($5.5 million), Conor Garland ($4.95 million), Evander Kane ($5.125 million), and Elias Pettersson ($11.6 million) as sizeable contracts that could be moved. That, along with some free-agent money coming off the books this summer, would allow them to handle Rielly’s full $7.5 million cap hit.

Acquiring the 31-year-old won’t come at much of a cost, and although the goal is to get younger, the Canucks will still need some veterans to lead the charge along the way. Rielly would very likely be open to waiving his no-movement clause for Vancouver, allowing all the obstacles to be overcome and the dots to connect on a potential fit.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Another team that will always be circled when it comes to Rielly is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Former GM Kyle Dubas, who signed him to that eight-year, $60 million extension in 2021, of course, now runs the show in the Steel City, creating an obvious link to the Pens.

Cap space isn’t even close to being an issue now—or in the offseason, when they’re slated to have over $50 million to play with. What is a weakness, however, is the left side of their blue line. Parker Wotherspoon has been an unbelievable surprise handling top-pairing duties alongside Erik Karlsson, but beyond him are pending UFAs Brett Kulak and Ryan Shea, as well as the anchor of a contract that is Ryan Graves ($4.5 million). There’s no doubt Rielly could be a welcome addition to the defensive corps.