Two Western Canadian Teams Seen Among Fits for Morgan Rielly

A Morgan Rielly trade this offseason has become rather inevitable, and it’s now more about where the longest-tenured Toronto Maple Leaf ends up as opposed to whether he’ll find himself on the move or not.

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We’ve heard plenty of buzz around recently rebuilding teams who possess an abundance of cap space, like the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and even a reunion with Kyle Dubas on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those four were all included in Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet’s recent Rielly landing spots article, though there were two other interesting teams mentioned, those being Western Canadian clubs in the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks.

Dixon wrote:

“Despite a down season, the Jets remain all-in on winning with an over-30 core. The team’s top need is a second-line centre, but no sense waiting around to see what happens there. If you look at Winnipeg’s defence, there’s a job just waiting for Rielly as an over-qualified third-pair guy on the left side. With a top four of Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo (Rielly’s Canadian partner at the worlds), Dylan Samberg and Neal Pionk locked in, Rielly could jump on the third pair with right-shooting Elias Salomonsson and help bring along the talented 21-year-old (who won’t actually be ready for training camp thanks to off-season shoulder surgery). What a top-to-bottom blueline that could be for the Jets.

The clear “one of these things is not like the other” club on this list, but we had to at least float Rielly’s hometown team. Would he consider playing there for a year, even a year-and-a-half before the 2027 trade deadline to get the unique experience of performing at home while mentoring the next generation of Canucks? It’s hard Rielly’s personal timeline to chase a Cup lining up with Vancouver’s, but you never know,”

The 32-year-old Rielly has four years remaining on the eight-year, $60 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs back in 2021, which includes a full no-movement clause through 2027-28.

Winnipeg is an interesting option that hasn’t come up all that much in connection to Rielly, while Vancouver has always swirled around as his hometown team.

Whether or not Rielly would have any interest in playing in another Canadian market remains to be seen, though if he is open to the idea, the Jets and Canucks are two to keep an eye on in these sweepstakes.

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