Maple Leafs GM breaks silence on a Morgan Rielly trade

The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading into training camp with Morgan Rielly still on the roster, and general manager John Chayka is making it clear there was never much of a real market for him to begin with.

Chayka has been consistent all offseason that he did not expect Rielly to be dealt, even after reports surfaced back in June that the veteran defenceman had submitted a short list of teams he would waive his no-move clause for.

San Jose and Anaheim were mentioned as possible fits at one point, and the Sharks even pivoted toward Darnell Nurse instead, but nothing about the Rielly talks ever developed into anything resembling a real offer.

Rielly is 32 years old and carries a $7.5 million cap hit through the 2029-30 season, which is a tough ask for any team looking to absorb that kind of money for a defenceman coming off his lowest scoring output since 2016-17.

Combine that with the no-move clause giving Rielly all the leverage in the process, and it's easy to see why Chayka never had a serious negotiating partner on the other end of the phone this summer.

Rielly himself has sounded like a player who fully expects to be back in blue and white this season, saying there's great things ahead and that he's excited about the direction of the retooled roster under Chayka and Mats Sundin heading into training camp.

With the Leafs opening camp and the regular season set to begin September 29, Rielly will report as the longest tenured player on the roster once again.

Barring a late change of heart from another team, it looks like he's staying put for at least one more year in Toronto as the Leafs try to bounce back from missing the playoffs.

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