Toronto Maple Leafs: Should they consider trading Morgan Rielly?
By Matt Mallard
Why trading Rielly wouldn’t make sense
While the possibility of the Maple Leafs signing Pietrangelo on October 9th is exciting, it’s also just a hypothetical at this point and that has to be the biggest reason to not pursue a trade involving Rielly.
They would lose their top power play defenceman in the process and not have a serviceable replacement right away. This trade would also mean that the Leafs would in fact be putting a ton of stock into Sandin and Lehtonen being able to fill the gap that would exist on the left side following Rielly’s departure.
As mentioned, Rielly plays significant minutes for the Leafs and those minutes will need to be filled by someone, it’s just unclear right now whether or not either of them will be able to do this at an NHL level.
On another note, Rielly is currently the longest tenured Leaf and a huge leader for the team on and off the ice, not to mention a longtime fan favourite. Moving a player such as Rielly at only 26 years old can be risky, but in this case, I think if it means the Leafs are able to bring in Alex Pietrangelo, the reward far outweighs the risk.