Controversial Maple Leafs Defenseman Morgan Rielly Placed on Insider's Trading List

Morgan Rielly was the whipping boy for Toronto Maple Leafs fans last season, as he wasn't the offensive juggernaut fans expected him to be.

With that $7.5 million cap hit, there were segments of the Maple Leafs fanbase who were demanding that Rielly be traded as soon as possible.

Of course, many of these calls for a trade were premature. Near the end of the regular season, and even in the playoffs, Rielly was fantastic and showed us tremendous growth as a player.

Throughout the offseason, trade rumors have persisted about Rielly, and there have been reports that the Leafs broached the topic with the defenseman.

In the end, Rielly made it clear that he isn't going anywhere, or at least, he doesn't want to. Despite this, Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects believes Rielly may have no choice.

Robinson suggests, in his new article, that Rielly is one of 10 impact players who could be on the way out for the Leafs this season.

Why? Well, it all comes down to the fact that Rielly is someone who will only decline as the years go by, given his age and usage rate.

Furthermore, guys like Chris Tanev emerged as the number one option for the Leafs last season, even if his offensive numbers aren't close to Rielly's.

With Henry Thrun coming in, the Maple Leafs could be getting an injection of offense on the blue line, which would render Rielly redundant.

That said, a trade seems very unlikely right now, and we would imagine the Leafs keep things as is until further notice.