Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has done a fabulous job re-tooling the roster on the fly thanks to a number of free-agent signings and completed trades, and from the sounds of it, there still could be a significant move or two coming. This could include Chayka providing the longest-tenured Maple Leaf, defenceman Morgan Rielly, a change of scenery.

Chayka spoke to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne recently, and opened up about the latest trade buzz surrounding Rielly. “With regards to Morgan, we’re talking about a really good defenceman,” stated Chayka. “For us, where we’re at, and where we’re trying to go, he’s been a leader, longest-tenured Leaf, nothing but total respect for him. But again, we’ll continue to look to improve the group and consider everything, but, I’d say at this juncture, Morgan’s a big part of this.”

Chayka isn’t interested in including a sweetener in any Rielly trade, or retaining any salary moving forward. Rielly’s owed $7.5 million AAV for four more seasons, and owns a no-movement clause. The Leafs’ defenceman has reportedly provided a list of teams he’d consider joining, but Chayka’s comments certainly put a little bit of cold water on a very hot trade market.

“We’re going to continue to explore some things. We had some discussions around the draft, we had discussions around free agency, but, these things are hard.”

“It’s hard to forecast exactly what could fall, and certainly, we think we have some good stability through our lineup now. If we can add difference makers, I think we should always be trying to do that. And, it does feel like there could be some more liquidity in the market in these July/August months, so we’ll keep adding.”

With the San Jose Sharks signing Jacob Trouba to a long-term contract, and trading for Darnell Nurse’s full remaining contract, it certainly feels like the Sharks, a very logical Rielly suitor, are out for now.

The Anaheim Ducks are a team to watch, as Rielly would likely approve a move to Anaheim, and the Ducks still have $35 million in cap space to work with, and several holes on their blueline after the departures of Trouba, John Carlson and Radko Gudas. One wildcard team in the Eastern Conference would be the Philadelphia Flyers. They missed out on Carlson, despite a more lucrative offer than the Tampa Bay Lightning, and could circle in with the Leafs to discuss the veteran defenceman. The Flyers have close to $30 million remaining in cap space and could easily fit Rielly’s contract on their books. With the recent Joseph Woll/Emil Andrae trade, could we see Chayka and Daniel Briere completing more business in the coming weeks?

For now, Rielly remains a Leaf and with Jim Hiller coming back behind the bench in a much bigger capacity, there’s certainly a ton of familiarity on both sides, and Hiller’s made it clear he loves Rielly’s game, and sees the Maple Leafs‘ defenceman as a perfect bounce-back candidate next season.

Now, we wait and see what kind of offers come across Chayka’s desk once the free-agency dust settles. At this point, it certainly feels like Rielly is returning to the Leafs next season, and with more depth on Toronto’s blueline, perhaps playing less, in a better suited role, will lead to a more productive season.