Nobody Saw This Coming! Surprise NHL Team Emerges as the New Favorite to Land Morgan Rielly

The Anaheim Ducks have emerged as a new suitor for Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, whose trade rumors have gained momentum.

 

Chris Johnston, an insider, brought up the idea Thursday evening on his own program, stating that Anaheim lacks enough NHL defense to advance.

 

“Perhaps there’s a good match there,” Johnston said, singling out Rielly as a player to keep an eye on.

 

Rielly is not a disposable object. This season, he scored 36 points in 78 games, with 11 goals and 25 assists.

 

However, the numbers beneath the surface reveal a more challenging picture. He concluded the season with a -18 rating, and Toronto ended the year on a seven-game losing streak.

 

The Maple Leafs ended with a 32-36-14 record, good for 78 points and a 28th overall league ranking.

 

Rielly’s $7,500,000 cap hit, a sum that would compel Anaheim to be inventive before any trade is made, is still in effect.

 

Anaheim’s early playoff departure highlighted a serious defensive flaw

The Ducks finished the season with a record of 43-33-6, good enough for 17th place overall, and made a strong run in the postseason.

 

Edmonton was defeated by Anaheim in the first round, and then they were defeated by Vegas.

 

This kind of playoff departure is precisely what drives a general manager to scour his own blue line. Joel Quenneville is on the bench, and Pat Verbeek is in charge of the front office.

 

Toronto already has the upper hand on Anaheim this season, which is ironic. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ducks twice, once in overtime weeks later and once 6-4 in March.

 

Will Verbeek truly spend $7,500,000 in cap space following a difficult playoff round? Repainting a house because one wall looks off would be similar to doing it based on one awful series.

 

In his last 10 games, Rielly also chilled off, scoring just three points on two goals and one assist. Not a particularly powerful closing statement.

 

This is still conjecture, not a finished agreement. But when a name like Johnston starts connecting a player to a particular team, calls are often already happening.