Morgan Rielly Willing To Accept Trade To Western Conference Destination
Per Chris Johnston on his own show, Anaheim still makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, and Johnston believes it is a place Rielly would be willing to play."Re Morgan Rielly: Anaheim still makes sense," Johnston said. "I think it's a place he would be willing to play."
That fit, however, now runs through the most chaotic stretch of Anaheim's offseason.
The Carlsson Offer Sheet Changes Everything
On July 3, the Philadelphia Flyers tendered a five-year, $90 million offer sheet to Ducks franchise center Leo Carlsson, a deal carrying an $18 million average annual value that would make the 21-year-old the highest-paid player in the NHL.
The Ducks have until July 10 to match or receive Philadelphia's next four first-round picks as compensation.
Chris Johnston: Re Morgan Rielly: Anaheim still makes sense; I think it's place he would be willing to play - Chris Johnston Show (7/2)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 5, 2026
Elliotte Friedman had reported that Anaheim guaranteed it would match any offer sheet on Carlsson, and that the reason the Ducks had been quiet in free agency was to stay in a safe cap position.
If Anaheim matches, and every indication is that it will, the Ducks would be left with roughly $17.9 million in cap space to finish their offseason, a dramatic reduction from the more than $40 million they entered July with.
Mintyukov Adds to the Squeeze
The Carlsson bombshell triggered a cascade.
Multiple teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens, approached restricted free agent defenseman Pavel Mintyukov about an offer sheet, sensing an opportunity to pry away another young Duck while Anaheim was cap-stressed.
The Ducks moved quickly to shut that down.
Chris Johnston: Re Morgan Rielly/Maple Leafs: It's still more likely than not, 75-25[%] he's traded this summer - Chris Johnston Show (7/2)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 6, 2026
Anaheim re-signed Mintyukov to a five-year deal worth $7.2 million annually, fending off the outside interest and locking up the left side of their blue line.
That signing, while important, ate into the very cap space Anaheim would need to add a player like Rielly.
Why the Fit Existed in the First Place
The Rielly-to-Anaheim logic was built on the Ducks' offseason exodus on defense.
Anaheim lost veteran right-shot defensemen John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Radko Gudas, with Carlson signing in Tampa Bay and Gudas in Florida, leaving big holes on the back end.
Pierre LeBrun endorsed the fit weeks ago, and the Ducks, coming off their first playoff appearance since 2018 under head coach Joel Quenneville, are a team on the rise that could use a veteran presence to log major minutes.
The San Jose Sharks, long considered the other logical destination on Rielly's four-team list, went off the board July 1 when they acquired Darnell Nurse, further narrowing the market.
The problem is money.
Even if Anaheim still wants Rielly, matching Carlsson's $18 million and re-signing Mintyukov at $7.2 million leaves the Ducks with limited flexibility, and they still need to re-sign leading scorer Cutter Gauthier, who is not offer-sheet eligible and will command a significant raise.
Absorbing Rielly's $7.5 million cap hit through 2029-30 would be difficult without Toronto retaining salary, and Leafs GM John Chayka has indicated he is not eager to retain money or add sweeteners.
Rielly, 32, is also coming off a career-worst season with 36 points and a minus-18 rating, which makes committing significant money to him a real question for Ducks GM Pat Verbeek even in a healthier cap situation.
