Could the Toronto Maple Leafs trade Morgan Rielly? Top three options

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly has made a name for himself as a solid offensive D-man at the NHL level and has been a fixture on the Leafs’ top defence pairing for much of his career. However, Rielly hasn’t quite looked like the guy who put up 72 points in the 2018–19 season, or even the guy who put up 68 points just three years later in 2021–22.

Amongst many Leafs fans, Rielly has been defined by his inconsistent play of late, looking like an elite two-way player one game, and then like a total non-factor the next. And while Rielly is 31 years old, with productive years still ahead of him in the NHL, it may be time for the team to move on from the current longest tenured Leaf and get some solid pieces in return.

While it may be tough to find a destination for Rielly, given his no-trade clause, there are a few deals that the Leafs may just not be able to pass up on, assuming Rielly allows them. With that, here are three potential players the Leafs could choose to deal Rielly for.

Nazem Kadri

Of the three potential Rielly deals that will be discussed, a Rielly for Nazem Kadri deal is the one that has been thrown around the most amongst fans and the media, and for good reason.

Before Kadri became a Stanley Cup champion with the Colorado Avalanche and his current stint with the Calgary Flames, the forward was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team initially selected Kadri with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Kadri was a fixture at centre for the Leafs until he was traded to the Avalanche in the summer of 2019.

Following his trade departure from Toronto, Kadri has shown what an elite forward he can be, most notably putting up a career-best 87 points in his Cup-winning 2021–22 season with Colorado. And his time in Calgary has been nothing to scoff at either, as he put up 75 points in 2023–24, and last season, Kadri put up 67 points, which included a career-best 35 goals.

Essentially, the Leafs would be giving up offence on the defensive end for offence at centre, which is something the team needs, considering the drop-off in talent at the centre position after Auston Matthews and John Tavares. Kadri could slot in at the second-line centre position, pushing Tavares either to the wing or to the third line, which would further deepen their strength at the position.

Money-wise, it works quite well since Rielly makes $7.5M per season and Kadri makes $7M. It might be tough losing a Leaf lifer in Rielly, but a Kadri reunion would also be pretty sweet.

Darnell Nurse

The Leafs could take a different approach and trade Rielly for another defenceman, and as Heavy Sports proposed on Tuesday, Edmonton Oilers D-man Darnell Nurse could be a solid option.

Nurse and Rielly are both top-line defencemen who have spent their entire careers with one team; however, both have also experienced a multitude of playoff disappointments, even if some of Nurse’s came in the Cup final, while Rielly’s have all been within the first two playoff rounds. Perhaps a change of scenery for both men could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Whereas Rielly is a more offensive defenceman, as pointed out previously, Nurse is more of a traditional rear-guard, throwing big hits and blocking shots while still contributing some scoring here and there. The Leafs already bolstered their defence corps last offseason when they added the likes of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, so a Nurse for Rielly swap would only add to an already scary crew on the back end. And while he isn’t the prolific shot blocker that Tanev is, Nurse still finished in the top-50 in the league last season in blocked shots, so having those two on the same team could spell danger for opponents’ best shooters.

Nurse is currently making $9.25M per year, so a straight-up deal for Rielly may require Edmonton to retain some salary, but it would honestly work well for both teams, with Edmonton getting a fellow offensive D-man to pair next to Evan Bouchard, and Toronto getting another brick wall to add to an impressive core.

Erik Karlsson

Okay, this one may be a bit of a stretch, but Leafs GM Brad Treliving did tell reporters after the team lost to Florida in the 2025 postseason that “there’s some DNA that has to change in our team.” So, for the third trade option, we are proposing that the Leafs look to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins veteran defenceman Erik Karlsson.

The riskiest move

Is Karlsson four years older than Rielly? Yes. Has he been in top form the past couple of seasons? No. But just three seasons ago in 2022–23, Karlsson won the third Norris Trophy of his career, putting up a career-best 101 points for the San Jose Sharks. While Rielly is strong on the offensive end of the ice, Karlsson, at his best, is simply on another level.

While Karlsson’s past two seasons with Pittsburgh haven’t been nearly as good, he has still scored more than 50 points each year, which is right around what Rielly has put up in the best years of his career. If it were strictly stats-based, this deal would be a no-brainer for Toronto, but there is also the age factor. Toronto would be taking a gamble that Karlsson can avoid injury, thrive on an already strong team and get close to his Norris-winning ways while wearing the blue and white. The team would also hope Karlsson can help them get back to the Cup final for the first time since 1967 within the next couple of seasons before his age really starts to show.

Karlsson makes $11.5M per season for the next two years, so the Leafs would likely have to add someone like winger Nick Robertson to the deal to make the money work. This move is the definition of a win-now move, but it would also be a big gamble, especially when giving up a player who has dedicated years to the Leafs organization. But the Penguins look to be rebuilding, and there’s no point in keeping Karlsson.