Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly leads first Trade Targets offseason board

When GM John Chayka hammered home the point in his introductory press conference that the Maple Leafs needed to dramatically improve on the backend, the clock started ticking on Morgan Rielly's tenure in Toronto.

Yes, after nearly 1,000 games all in a Maple Leafs sweater, the time is nigh for Rielly - which is why he tops Hockey 24/7's first Trade Targets board of the 2026 NHL offseason.

Outgoing GM Brad Treliving hinted as much Wednesday in his first interview since his departure, now working with Rielly again as Co-GM of Team Canada at the World Championships in Switzerland.

"We've had a chance to spend some time over here, him and I," Treliving told TSN's OverDrive. "I know how much he cares about the Leafs, the market, but I do think, I do think hockey there and who knows what the future holds, but sometimes a change is good for everybody, right? So I don't know what the future holds for him, but I still think there's a good NHL defenseman there."

It was Treliving that essentially told Rielly last summer that he needed to turn his game around. Treliving also mentioned "conditioning" and "taking care of your body," which was another way of touching on the apparent decline in Rielly's speed and ability to effectively move the puck. He cannot close on players as efficiently as he once did. And he cannot quarterback the power play, which has been proven over a few years now.

But Rielly, now 32, holds all of the cards with a full 'no-move' clause. Is he ready for change? He isn't alone on the trade board - Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, Edmonton's Darnell Nurse and Blues forwards Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas all have complete say.

Kyrou and Thomas comprise half of the four St. Louis Blues players on the board, joining Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko, as Alex Steen assumes GM duties in the Gateway to the West.

Vegas will have salary cap considerations to re-sign Pavel Dorofeyev and goaltender Adin Hill is the least consequential castoff with Carter Hart carrying the Golden Knights to the Western Conference Final. Their opponent, the Avalanche, will also have limited dollars to fill out their roster, making one or both of Jack Drury and Ross Colton expensive bottom-six players.

First round pick Sebastian Cossa's overseasoning in Detroit appears to have backfired on GM Steve Yzerman, now somehow behind Trey Augustine and Michal Postava in the pecking order. Montreal's Sam Montembeault, Buffalo's Devon Levi an Columbus' Elvis Merzlinkins are also the odd-men out, to say nothing of the way the Oilers have soured on Tristan Jarry as a solution.

Here's our first Trade Targets board of the season:

Hockey 24/7's Trade Targets 🎯

as of May 21, 2026