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Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs came crashing down to earth in 2025/26, and while the team didn’t finish in the bottom three in the National Hockey League, they were rewarded with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and the opportunity to draft Gavin McKenna.
After losing Mitch Marner a year ago, the team have already parted ways with Joseph Woll this off-season, and with the incoming McKenna, the organization are looking to make the necessary changes to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026/27. That has meant plenty of trade speculation surrounding some of the teams biggest names, and now, General Manager John Chayka has weighed in on some of the rumors.
GettyMorgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One player that’s been involved in speculation dating back to last season is veteran blue liner Morgan Rielly, and with the team looking to get younger and more explosive on defense, he’s certainly a candidate to be traded. That speculation has picked up in recent times, with some fans expecting and/or hoping that a deal could be done before the 2026 NHL Draft, with the Maple Leafs getting some draft capital in the process.
However, when GM John Chayka was asked about this, he admitted to having conversations with Rielly about the future, but reveals that there’s no plans to trade him as of right now, with no rival team presenting a trade that makes sense for Toronto to give up their 32-year-old veteran defenseman.
“We’re constantly having conversations about what’s the best fit for the player (and team).”
Leafs GM John Chayka on Morgan Rielly’s future: “We’re constantly having conversations about what’s the best fit for the player (and team).”
He adds, as of now, a trade isn’t imminent, he isn’t expecting a trade – one clearly hasn’t presented itself yet. Posturing? We shall see.
While there’s a chance this could shut down the speculation, there’s also the possibility that this is just Chayka posturing and looking to get rival teams to up their bid for Rielly, but as of this moment, there’s nothing imminent, with no teams offering concrete deals that could win the Maple Leafs front office over.
If Morgan Rielly were to be traded, it would see the Maple Leafs lose a modern great that’s become synonymous with the franchise, as Rielly has appeared in 951 regular season games with the team since being drafted No. 5 overall back in 2012. In that time, he’s posted 98 goals and 549 points, showing that while he’s not the flashiest player, he’s incredibly consistent and has been a force on the blue line for a very successful regular season run for the franchise.
However, if he does stick around, he’s going to have a very exciting group in front of him with the arrival of McKenna, and after posting 11 goals and 36 points in 78 games played in 2025/26, he showed he can still contribute at a very high level. Obviously things on the trade front can change in an instant in the NHL, and while Chayka’s mindset and stance on this situation could also change at any time, for now the core group appears to be sticking together until something significant changes moving forward.
Nathan Smith Nathan Smith is a writer with Heavy Sports covering the NHL and MLB. He brings a decade of experience covering sports in North America for digital platforms such as PFSN, Athlon Sports and FanSided. More about Nathan Smith
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