Morgan Rielly Hands Maple Leafs a Short List of Western Teams He’ll Accept a Trade To

Morgan Rielly has spent his entire career in a Maple Leafs uniform. That might be changing soon.

The 32-year-old defenseman has submitted a list of four Western Conference teams he would be willing to join, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. His agent, J.P. Barry, passed that list along to Toronto’s front office. Dreger posted on X that the situation will be evaluated on a team-by-team basis, and there’s some flexibility to add more teams depending on fit.

Rielly is signed through the 2029-30 season at a $7.5 million cap hit. That contract isn’t small, but his production has been steady. In 951 games with the Leafs, he has 98 goals and 451 assists — 549 points total.

Which Teams Might Be on the List?

Pierre LeBrun, Dreger’s colleague at TSN, dropped a few names on Tuesday. He said the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks are likely high on Rielly’s list. LeBrun confirmed that Rielly sent a Western Conference-heavy list to the Leafs and said, according to Tyler Kuehl of Daily Faceoff, that he knows for a fact Rielly did that.

San Jose and Anaheim make sense for a couple reasons. Both are in the early stages of rebuilds and have cap space. Both could use a veteran presence on the blue line. And both are west of the Mississippi, which is clearly the preference here.

Another Big Shake-Up in Toronto

The Leafs have already been busy this offseason. They traded goaltender Joseph Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers and hired Jim Hiller as their new head coach. Moving Rielly would be the most significant change yet. He’s been the longest-tenured defenseman on the roster and has been through the highs and lows of this franchise’s recent playoff failures.

It’s not clear yet what the Leafs are asking for in return. But Rielly’s contract and his age make this a complicated trade. He’s not young but he’s not old either. He can still drive offense from the back end. The question is whether Toronto wants to clear cap space or target specific assets.

The team hasn’t confirmed the report. Dreger and LeBrun are plugged in though, so this feels like more than just speculation. Rielly has never played anywhere else. If this happens, it’ll be a real shift in how people view the Leafs’ direction.