Respected Maple Leafs reporter warns of imminent danger for Morgan Rielly
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has been having a rough season, and according to James Mirtle, we are on the verge of a drastic decision in Toronto.
Last season, Morgan Rielly was the whipping boy in Toronto as he finished the season with just 41 points in 82 games and a -8 rating.
This season, Rielly is on pace for 52 points, which is a nice improvement. However, his -15 rating is atrocious, and he is starting to contribute to real losses.
It's becoming apparent that Rielly is not the same player he was just a few years ago. Age is catching up to him fast, and that eight-year, $7.5 million AAV contract continues to look worse by the day.
With that in mind, there have been calls from the fanbase for Rielly to be traded. According to James Mirtle of The Athletic, it would appear as though this might become a reality soon enough.
Morgan Rielly's time in Toronto has hit a wall
In a recent episode of 'The Leaf Report,' Mirtle claims that there is a precedent for teams to tell guys with no movement clauses that their time with the team is done.
Mirtle thinks the Leafs are reaching that point with Rielly, and that the team might force him to make a difficult decision, very soon.
We do see players around the league that have no movement clauses, that they just say...you're done here, where do you want to go...unless he turns it around this year, it kind of feels like that's where it's going with Rielly in the offseason
It seems unlikely that Rielly would be traded in the middle of the season. Instead, we would expect him to be dealt in the offseason when the market is there.
Rielly's contract is going to be a tough pill to swallow for some teams, and general manager Brad Treliving might just have to retain some salary to make it work.
The only way Rielly can cement his future going forward is if he starts to play better, which is a lot easier said than done. It's a tough situation, but these things happen in hockey.