Maple Leafs Listening To Morgan Rielly Trade Offers

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a world of trouble, and general manager John Chayka is partially to blame. The Leafs GM inked Kirill Marchenko to a massive contract extension, beginning next season, as part of the Matthew Knies trade, and all it did was handcuff his financial flexibility, not only for this season but for next. 

Chayka is working the phones, trying to move out contracts with term left from his active roster, and all signs are pointing to defenceman Morgan Rielly being shipped out. Rielly was very transparent with Chayka last summer about where he'd accept a trade to, so Chayka has a sense of what Rielly and his family are ok with moving forward. 

Trade talks fizzled out by the time training camp rolled around, and Rielly has since posted 12 assists in his first 18 games this season, however, then Leafs are horrible defensively, and are looking to acquire a top-four d-man, who can help shore up their d-zone coverage. 

"It limits what [Toronto's] trying to do. It limits what they want to do." David Pagnotta explains how the Maple Leafs' tagging problem is preventing them from making trades, including Toronto's pursuit of a top-four defenceman. More with @JeffMarek & @TheFourthPeriod on this Tuesday edition of DFO Insider!

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) November 10, 2026

Rielly has full control of his destiny with a no-movement clause, and is inked through the 2030 season at $7.5 million AAV. He's averaging 18:45 a game, and is playing a depth role on both sides of special teams. There's been plenty of people connecting Rielly to the Vancouver Canucks, but at this point, it's hard to say the rebuilding Canucks would be interested in adding a veteran defenceman, who doesn't necessarily fit their timelines. Same goes for the Calgary Flames, even though they are overachieving this season.

The California teams are expected to be the most interested, as the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings are looking to make moves to add on their bluelines. The Ducks especially, as they need to upgrade the talent on their back end, and get their playoff hopes back on track.

The Leafs have lost four in a row, faceoff against the Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers the next two games, and if it gets up to six in a row, something big is going down in the six.