Will the Toronto Maple Leafs tear it all down to the studs this summer is the question on every fan’s lips, what with the franchise staring at scraps this season.
For a second, it looked like the Leafs would #EmbraceTheTank and keep their 2026 first-round pick by settling into the bottom five, but after back-to-back wins over the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, there are more questions than answers when it comes to the squad in Toronto.
One thing most analysts and insiders can agree on, however, is that $60 million defenseman Morgan Rielly appears to have one foot out the door already.
Maple Leafs D-Man Morgan Rielly’s Future Called Into Question
Leading up to the trade deadline earlier this month, there was intense speculation that the Leafs would turn into wholesale sellers, shipping off valuable pieces of their roster to accumulate assets in a bid to retool in the summer.
And while they did do some business at the deadline (not very impressive business, mind you), fans were left a little underwhelmed at the lack of urgency to ship underperforming assets out. The likes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Morgan Rielly stayed put, raising eyebrows across the fanbase. However, Rielly could very well be on his way out come summertime.
Speaking on the Barn Burner show, insider Darren Dreger said, “I look at Morgan Rielly as an example, I think he’s screaming for a change of scenery; he’s not playing well; that might be a tough contract to move, but it’s deals like that where they’ve gotta change the look of the team.”
Rielly still has four more years left on his $60 million deal which averages out at $7.5 million a year. If you zoom out a little, he could still be a valuable top-four piece on the blue line on another roster, but given the fact that he has a no-trade clause, Rielly will need to be on board with any potential move.
The Leafs sure could use that cap space to get a little younger. They were already a more veteran squad last season, and with no Mitch Marner to help out this time around, the Leafs just couldn’t manage to overpower units like they did in Marner’s career-best year.
As things stand, Toronto finds itself with the eighth-worst record in the NHL by points percentage after those consecutive wins, which means they might not have their first-round pick in the draft after all, further complicating matters in a retooling year.
They could also be on the lookout for a new head coach this summer, with Craig Berube thought to be on the hot seat. Former Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer’s name has been thrown around, but he himself reassured Berube that he wasn’t after his job.
In any case, Berube has been vocal about wanting to coach a team with the pieces there to contend for a Stanley Cup. The Leafs don’t fit that bill just yet.
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