Rielly Trade Options Still Available

Morgan Rielly is still a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is rumored to be on the trading block. As of Friday morning, there is still no deal in place for the 32-year-old.

Toronto general manager John Chayka should be glad that he waited to trade Rielly. Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was traded to the San Jose Sharks on July 1st. The Oilers received a player (Shakir Mukhamadullin) and a prospect (Zachary Sharp) in return. More importantly, the Oilers did not retain any of Nurse’s $9.25 million salary.

Now that Nurse is off the market, Rielly moves closer to the top of the list for available defensemen. There are reports that the 13-year veteran has given Maple Leafs management a list of teams he would accept a trade to. Most, if not all, the teams on his list are teams out West.

Looking at the Western Conference, there are only a few teams that have enough cap space to acquire Rielly and his full $7.5 million. Some of those teams are entering a rebuild (Vancouver Canucks) or need cap space to re-sign key restricted free agents (RFAs), such as Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti.

Rielly to a Pacific Division Team

In the NHL’s Pacific Division, the Anaheim Ducks ($35.17 million) are the most likely to consider trading for Rielly. The Seattle Kraken ($18.41 million) might be interested, and they’re close to Vancouver, where Rielly is from.

The Calgary Flames ($22.13 million) and Vancouver Canucks ($17.81 million) have the cap space, but are not contenders. One has to assume that if he’s going to waive his no-movement clause, Rielly will want to go to a contending team.

So, using the Nurse trade as a blueprint, what can the Maple Leafs expect in a return for trading Rielly without retaining any salary?

Anaheim Ducks:
– Anton Wahlberg (20 – C/LW – 6’4″, 205 Lbs.)
– Noah Warren (21 – RHD – 6’5″, 216 Lbs.)

Seattle Kraken:
– Ryker Evans (24 – LHD – 6’0″, 192 Lbs.)
– Carson Rehkopf (21 – C/LW – 6’2″, 201 Lbs.)

Central Division Trade Options

In the Central Division, there are the Chicago Blackhawks ($29.3 million), Nashville Predators ($12.85 million), and St. Louis Blues ($10.24 million) with enough cap space to make a deal for Rielly.

Chicago Blackhawks:
– Ryan Greene (22 – C/LW – 6’1″, 196 lbs.)
– Marek Vanacker (20 – LW – 6’1″, 187 Lbs.)

Nashville Predators:
– Reid Schaefer (22 – LW – 6’4″, 218 Lbs.)
– Andrew Gibson (21 – RHD – 6’4″, 209 Lbs.)

St. Louis Blues:
– Connor McMichael (25 – LW – 6’0″, 187 Lbs. RFA)
– Lukas Fischer (19 – LHD – 6’3″, 185 Lbs.)

Most of these trades don’t help the NHL team right away, and that’s okay. Although there are a few NHL-ready players listed above, most of the players mentioned are a year or two away. Connor McMichael, Ryker Evans, Reid Schaefer and Ryan Greene are all NHL options for the 2026-27 season.

What does help Toronto right away is getting all or most of Rielly’s $7.5 million off the books. Doing so will allow the Maple Leafs to sign a top six forward.