As the offseason approaches, much of the discussion surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs focuses on the future of Auston Matthews with the organization, as well as what Toronto plans to do with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. However, speaking on First Up with Carlo Colaiacovo and Aaron Korolnek, TSN’s Darren Dreger shared that the Maple Leafs are expected to approach defenseman Morgan Rielly about waiving his no-movement clause this summer.
It’s a similar sentiment to what happened between Rielly and the Maple Leafs last offseason. Operating as the team’s top defenseman, Rielly dropped from 58 points in 72 games during the 2023-24 campaign to 41 points in 82 games in 2024-25, while also seeing his average ice time diminish by a few minutes. Still, Rielly wanted one more season to improve his game and prove that he could be what Toronto needed him to be.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it worked out. Although his goal-scoring production improved, Rielly’s point totals dropped to 36 across 78 games, and he averaged his lowest ice time since the 2014-15 campaign. Additionally, his 48.2% CorsiFor at even strength and 88.2% on-ice SV% at even strength were the lowest totals of his career. According to MoneyPuck, of the 148 defensemen who played over 1000 minutes at even strength during the 2025-26 season, Rielly ranked 107th in On-Ice Goals Percentage.
Clearly, that production isn’t sustainable, especially if the Maple Leafs want Rielly to be their top option from the blue line. However, Dreger asserted that this was a plan put in place by the Brad Treliving regime, and the hiring of John Chayka and Mats Sundin made the situation much cloudier.
Rielly’s agent, J.P. Barry, represented Sundin toward the later stages of his career. He assisted Sundin in staying with the Maple Leafs at the 2008 trade deadline, despite significant speculation, and facilitated the franchise’s scoring leader’s departure to Vancouver the following offseason. Given the connection between Rielly and Sundin, Dreger speculated that Sundin could force the situation and give Rielly another year in Toronto to see if a new staff can work through his issues.
Still, even if the new front office regime decides to pull the plug on Rielly’s tenure with the organization, they aren’t in the best negotiating position. Rielly is coming off back-to-back disappointing campaigns and will have four years and $22MM left on his contract heading into next season. Unlikely to recoup a solid return package, the Maple Leafs will have to decide if ripping the band-aid off is preferable to holding out for a better return that may never come.
