John Chayka made his first big move as the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, sending away Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers for Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson and a 2026 third-round draft pick.
Chayka checked off multiple boxes for the Maple Leafs in that deal, bringing in a young defenseman who will improve the team’s ability to advance the puck up the ice. However, more moves should be expected for Toronto this off-season.
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Matthew Knies has surfaced in trade rumors, but the player who has ramped up in trade discussions is defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Knies has been included in off-season trade boards, and it was even revealed that he was almost dealt at the NHL trade deadline last season. Though nothing has come to fruition yet, teams around the league have been eying the 23-year-old left winger.
Furthermore, at the time of the Leafs and Flyers trade, TSN’s Darren Dreger added that teams were “doing their due diligence on Woll and Knies.”
Aside from captain Auston Matthews and right winger William Nylander, Knies is probably the next player who would bring in the biggest trade package for the Maple Leafs.
Why Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies, Morgan Rielly Remain NHL Trade Candidates
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The possibility of a Rielly trade, however, seems to be much greater based on recent reports.
The Maple Leafs trading away the veteran blueliner appears to be the next likely scenario for Chayka and the organization this off-season. In fact, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun wrote, “all signs indeed point to a potential trade this offseason,” regarding Rielly, and that both the player’s camp and the team are working together on making a deal happen.
Rielly, 32, has a no-move clause in his contract, and he’s entering the fifth year of that eight-year deal, costing $7.5 million against the salary cap.
Because of that clause in his contract, Rielly cannot be traded without his consent to the team he is going to, or for a trade to happen at all. With that, LeBrun reported that Rielly’s agent, J.P. Barry, has given Leafs management a list of teams that the player could be interested in moving to.
Report: Maple Leafs’ John Chayka, Mats Sundin Talking With Morgan Rielly’s Representative About Off-Season Plans
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“My understanding is that most of those teams are all in the Western Conference, but there’s also a sense that there could be flexibility as talks evolve,” LeBrun wrote. “For instance, if Leafs GM John Chayka comes back to Barry with a team that’s not on the list but that made a decent trade offer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a ‘no.'”
The NHL insider also said that the San Jose Sharks make plenty of sense as a possible destination for Rielly. He also doesn’t believe his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, is on the list.
Nonetheless, it appears a divorce between Rielly and the Leafs could be in the cards this off-season.
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