It appears that Morgan Rielly will be the next Maple Leaf to leave the team for a long time, and one prominent place is conspicuously missing from his list of permitted destinations.
The post credits Pierre LeBrun with the report, which is quite clear. His agent has given Toronto a list of clubs that interest him, and all indications are that Rielly will be traded this summer.
It is important to note this. Because this is a supporter report based on LeBrun, use caution while interpreting the minute details. But the general strokes are in accordance with Toronto’s reset.
The list itself tells a story. There’s a sense that talks may change, and the majority of the teams are in the West.
But one team is noticeably absent, and it matters.
The snub was plainly conveyed by the relay.
San Jose is a potential fit, while Vancouver is out of the picture.
Here’s the most notable detail. San Jose makes sense as a landing place, according to the post, and Vancouver is not on Rielly’s list.
The interesting component is the Vancouver portion. With a young blue line, the Canucks may use a seasoned puck-mover to stabilize it. Rielly, it seems, has no interest.
And you can understand why he’d pass. At 58 points, Vancouver placed 32nd overall. It’s uncommon for a seasoned player who is relocated to choose to end up in the league’s cellar.
He would prefer to travel somewhere lively. That’s not a knock on Vancouver so much as a reflection of where they sit in their rebuild.
San Jose fits that thinking better. The Sharks climbed to 86 points and are a rising young team in the West, a far more appealing destination than a last-place club.
Rielly’s own profile sharpens the picture. He’s 32, on a $7.5 million deal, with 36 points but a rough minus-18 on a bad Toronto team. A change of scenery could do him good, and his list means he picks where.
Here’s my read: Rielly leaving is another core piece gone in Toronto’s teardown. The Marner exit, the Knies chatter, and now this.
The Vancouver snub underlines something, too. Even veterans being shopped want to land somewhere they can compete, not just bank a check on a rebuild.
So Rielly is heading West, just not to Vancouver. Where exactly depends on how the flexibility in talks plays out.
The Canucks can cross him off. Toronto’s reset rolls on, one veteran at a time, and the next domino is already wobbling.
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