- Chris Johnston ranks Morgan Rielly No. 5 on his first 2026 NHL offseason trade big board for The Athletic
- Rielly has reportedly softened his stance on waiving the no-movement clause that runs through 2029-30
- Read below for what Johnston wrote about Rielly’s market and Toronto’s new front office
The Maple Leafs and Morgan Rielly look headed for a parting.
Chris Johnston of The Athletic dropped his first offseason trade big board on Thursday, and Rielly landed at No. 5. Johnston wrote that the writing is on the wall for the longest-tenured Leaf, whose long-standing stance on his no-movement clause has reportedly shifted.
“With a new management group running the front office and a new coaching staff soon to be hired, this is a time of change in Toronto. That means the writing is on the wall for Rielly, the Leafs’ longest-tenured player, who has previously been unwilling to consider waiving his no-movement clause but has since softened on that stance. He still controls the process because of that mechanism in his contract, but a fresh start is looking increasingly likely.”
Even with the skating starting to slow, Johnston still pitched Rielly as a fit for plenty of contenders:
“While Rielly’s skating isn’t the separator it once was, he possesses strong puck skills and can help drive a team offensively. He’s also a high-character player who should be viewed as a dressing room asset.”
Rielly is coming off a brutal year by his standards. He posted 36 points in 78 games, his lowest full-season total since the shortened 2020-21 campaign, and his minus-18 marked the second-worst rating of his career.
Toronto missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons, and the front office paid the price. John Chayka and Mats Sundin took over in early May after Brad Treliving was let go, and Craig Berube followed his GM out the door a few days later.
Johnston isn’t the only insider eyeing a Rielly move. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli had the 32-year-old defenseman at No. 1 on his own offseason trade targets board a week earlier:
Word out of Toronto under Chayka has been that every player except Auston Matthews is on the table this summer. Rielly’s $7.5 million cap hit through 2029-30 is exactly the kind of contract a rebuilding management group wants to free up.
The 32-year-old is sitting on 549 career points, second in franchise history among defensemen, and 951 games played, third all-time as a Leaf. If he signs off on a destination, it’ll close one of the longest tenures in Toronto’s modern era.
