Confirmed with Link: Rielly signs 8 year extension - 7.5M AAV

[BertCorbeau]

I really like that Dubas was able to get some flexibility at the end of this contract in years 7 and 8 with a modified NTC .. A full NMC would be pretty standard but to get that at the tail end when Rielly is 35/36 helps the Leafs keep some market value to Rielly and also helps Rielly control his destination a little. He had a 10-team no trade list in those two final years.

Basically they have him locked in through his entire prime at a fair price, and have the ability to move him towards the end if needed while not being entirely strung on a full NTC.

 

[Niagara Bill]

JT earned his contract at that point in his career, turning down significantly more money to come here. He also chose Toronto, not the other way around. A major distinction.

So, even when his numbers aren't always there, he is working hard and driving the net. He had the courage to jump into the fishbowl. I'm loyal to such players and commend their courage (relative to the application of such a term to sports) as they didn't take the easy, stress-free road.

All the other three IMO are overpaid to varying degrees simply due to the control the Leafs had at the time. Matthews, the least overpaid of the lot.

From a purely business perspective, it can be argued that no Leaf is overpaid as the franchise is the most valuable in the league in terms of dollars. However, from a practical, logistical, "Cup seeking standpoint", I would personally have taken a different approach than Dubas from the initial negotiation with Nylander, to set the boundaries (it would have been different had this team won a couple of rounds).

In the end, I've said that some of Dubas trades and tight money pickups have been excellent. Those early contracts were always going to bite the team barring a sizeable increase in the Cap.

Still does not face the reality on this team, Reilly was overpaid due to circumstances. If Marner or JT were not paid then we would have room for that elite dman. So now we can never get an elite dman.

 

[The Apologist]

that's.... absolutely nothing to work with

good lord leafs

So we deal from a position of strength. We have tons of talent up front who can go.

 

[The Apologist]

I like Mo but would have preferred to move along from him.

Just solidifying the team that can't get it done.

But why get rid of one of the few who DOES show up?

 

[IPS]

So we deal from a position of strength. We have tons of talent up front who can go.

Itd just be so painful to get rid of willy. Management seems married to marner so i doubt he gets moved.

 

[The Apologist]

Itd just be so painful to get rid of willy. Management seems married to marner so i doubt he gets moved.

I think it will depend on what value is out there for each. I don't think Dubas will give either away so it's whichever teams are willing to pony up more for. Willie has the better contract but I still think in the end Mitch is the bigger star. Not 11m star but still bigger.

 

[hobarth]

Many here were assuming Rielly was an automatic for an 8.5 or 9 mil. contract, Dubie signed him for less so I guess that's a good thing.

Someone stated that since he signed for less than he might have received on the open market, he wants to remain a Leaf and that's a good thing, didn't the Muskegoen 5 also want to remain Leafs?

It was also assumed that Barrie would get tons of money when he became an UFA, he ended up signing for 3.5 mil. for 1 year, he now is making 4.5 mil. which is less than he made(AAV) in his TO year.

Barrie was the highest scoring dman in the NHL last year, he was playing 3 to 4 minutes less than the other high scoring dmen, his +/- was only 4 less positive than the best dman last year, Adam Fox.
Both Rielly and Barrie don't PK, I think most would agree that being apart of the offense is their strong suits, the dmen that are getting the big $s are exceptional both offensively and defensively, they're exceptional at all times in every scenario during a game. They deserve the big money.

The real question should be, is Rielly that exceptional at anything and therefore deserving huge money or is he more like Barrie and Krug, is he now officially overpaid.

 

[egd27]

They also got swept by Columbus the year before they won.

They also had a SC Final and 2 Conf Finals in three of the four seasons prior to getting swept by Columbus.

 

[mcleex]

5 players account for 60% of the cap. Let that sink in

 

[A1LeafNation]

5 players account for 60% of the cap. Let that sink in

It's the Tavares and Marner contracts that are questionable...the rest are fine.

 

[Optimist]

Meh.. I'm not really liking this. His skillset has already regressed and we sign him to a long term contract? Mark my words. There will be much regret about this contract in the not too distant future. Guys that take weak wrist shots into the shin pads of their opponent on the power play are a dime a dozen.

 

[keonsbitterness]

I guess Rielly took less so wants to make sure he isn't shipped off at some point. However Dubas needs to stop giving so many players NMC/NTC.... it handicap's your ability to navigate the cap in the future.

Hell even a useless plug like Simmonds somehow got a full NTC this year and a M-NTC next year

He can get traded in year 7 or 8 if needed without much difficulty.

Did anyone give Burke credit in this thread?

For what? He had no part in negotiations.

 

[makbeer]

Am I the only one upset by this? Just shows they are leaning even more into the core and not looking at changes.

 

[BlackAdam]

I honestly felt it was the best for the Leafs to walk away from Reilly.
He's been on a decline since that high ankle sprain a few years back.

 

[ottomaddox]

5 players account for 60% of the cap. Let that sink in

I did a long time ago. It can't work. It hasn't worked yet.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

I for one think Mo is a good player, I didn't think we'd be able to sign him so I'm stoked.

Hopefully the cap starts going up in the next few years though.

 

[hamzarocks]

I hope this signing can be a turning point for the team. It could have been a concern/distraction as Mo is a leader and one of the more liked/respected players from what I can tell. Wondering if your 1D was walking could be a tough situation for the team.

With him signed, they have basically everyone that matters outside of Campbell signed. We can hopefully convince Jack to be willing to sign next summer hopefully after a deep playoff run and once we've moved Kerfoot or Holl+Ritchie

Excited to see the team play. They've got a chance to put everything behind them. Come out strong tomorrow for the Red Wings, don't take them lightly especially with the wings talent having increased and their offense clicking.

Think the leafs come out hot and put a 3 goal 1st period, on route to a 6-3 win with Mrazek getting the game.

Go Leafs Go!!!

 

[hamzarocks]

I for one think Mo is a good player, I didn't think we'd be able to sign him so I'm stoked.

Hopefully, the cap starts going up in the next few years though.

I think it is a 1M increase each year untill 2024, then a bigger jump coming up.

Leafs will be able to survive that with a similar level roster. The only issue becomes if this level of the team is good enough to contend. I truly hope so, but we need our big 4 to be producing come playoffs for that to happen as the depth aren't offensive players for the most part.

By 2024 both Brodie and Muzzin are off the books giving around 10.7M of which I doubt Sandin and Lilijgren will take a whole lot as neither seem likely to be making 4M on their next deal (lilijgren especially who'll be a 900k or 1M bridge for 2 years)

It can work out cap-wise but this roster has to win and show it is worth keeping around until the larger cap increases come.

 

[Antropovsky]

It's the Tavares and Marner contracts that are questionable...the rest are fine.

It's true...I'd argue Tavares is fine - it was less than market rate for a #1 UFA center who was a couple years from 30. Marner and Nylander account for about 3 million overpayment on the cap per year. Hyman should've been signed at a decent price but I believe watching his teammates pull out all stops to be overpaid and actually succeed, made him decide to do the same.

 

[Antropovsky]

Really appreciate this from Rielly.... after all the charades pulled by our recent free agents...it is nice change.

I'd like to see Marner and Nylander moved... I think both would get a good return and would send a big message to the team about past mistakes and focus a future on loyalty over selfishness.

 

[Blowfish]

Way too long and he can't defend.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Morgan Rielly and, by extension, the Maple Leafs are in a better place with a long-term deal done | The Star

This one took some time.

A version of this deal was quietly on the table for the last couple weeks, needing both sides to get comfortable with it and eventually smooth over the finer points of the structure. Pen was put to paper on Friday morning.

Had the Leafs let Rielly walk away in free agency, they would have had to find someone to fill his skates while in the middle of a window where they’re trying contend for the Stanley Cup. That includes logging more minutes than everyone else each season, consistently scoring more than half a point per game and handling the off-ice duties shouldered by a trusted veteran who happens to be the organization’s longest-tenured player.

The reason the team was willing to take on the risk of age-related decline in the back half of this contract is because there aren’t many players who tick all of those boxes. And there are even fewer of them willing to sign for less than $8 million per season.

If anything, the Rielly contract appears to mark a departure from a management team that hasn’t handed out long-term commitments to players approaching 30 since luring John Tavares as a free agent in 2018.

This is akin to making a large credit-card purchase without a clear plan to pay the bill decided on. It puts the Leafs at $76 million in cap commitments with just 15 players under contract next year, leaving only a bit more than $6 million to lock up another goaltender and fill out the roster next summer.

But there are other levers to pull to create more room, if needed, including potentially moving one of the big-money forwards in the off-season to rebalance the books. Alexander Kerfoot is another possibility, as are veteran defencemen Jake Muzzin and T.J. Brodie, although both own a no-trade clause until July 2023.

The larger point is general manager Kyle Dubas has multiple options available to make it work, and how this season plays out will almost certainly determine the path he takes.

These Leafs are truly living for the moment.

Signing Rielly now removes a degree of uncertainty at a time when the team is trying to pull out of an early-season swoon, and solidifies the fifth overall pick from 2012 as a long-term member of the leadership group no matter how the next five or six months play out.

He’s immensely popular inside the dressing room, inside the front office and around the city.

And it says something that he passed up his own opportunity to chase the kind of money Cale Makar, Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, Dougie Hamilton and Darnell Nurse got in recent months.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Keep in mind if he had all the stuff you say he lacks, he'd be making 10 mil, not 7.5. They know his weaknesses.

7-7.5 is exactly where he should be. I saw a lot of posts 1 or 2 months ago reasoning that 7.25 is the sweet spot and the reasoning made perfect sense. 250k over payment is negligible for Rielly

I don't personally believe 7.5 mil is worth it for a guy who is in the bottom 2% of the league defensively. Again, yes if he was actually a good offensive defenseman and not just a puck mover whose feet move faster than his brain. We don't have the defensive core to insulate him. People can make all the arguments they want that it's fair value for Rielly and that's fine.. I just don't think his skillset is a good 7.5 million cap hit investment for our team.

 

[seanlinden]

I think that depends on how Dermott and Sandin do this season. Muzzin's likely a potential trade candidate in the summer with 2 years left on his deal. If they move more cap (and the Leafs struggle next year) he could be a valuable deadline piece for a contender with 1 year + 2 playoff runs. His name still carries some value around the league.

Here's my concern -- where's the grit??

TJ Brodie is a solid defensive defenceman, but there's absolutely no grit to his game whatsoever. Muzzin and Bogosian were the only ones who brought that element to the game.

With Rielly locked in -- to me it should spell the end of the line for a guy like Travis Dermott.

 

[justloveleafs]

Show me a better skater in the NHL. OK mcdavid... But on d...

yeah, I love a big clapper, from my dmen....Morgan doesn't have it, nor does it seem like he is inclined to p;ossess it..

Some guys just have a natural huge slap shot.... I had it, but I never, cept for one day a year, when all my ligaments were in a special alignment, ever had a day, where I could skate like Morgan...

In terms of nhl history, he might be very much in the top ten ever, in nhl dmen in terms of skating...

He might even be top seven, of the last fifty years... He is not meek, one night I saw him destroy a guy, guess he was in a bad mood... Still young enough to improve if he wants to...

He is a funny cat, with a much better shot, he could have had, people drooling over the next bobby orr, but he seems too shy to want that... But with a sleek slapper like orr from the blue line, he could have invited those comparisons all day and night...

He might be too smart to bring that upon himself, His skating, is outstanding and even his biggest critic, who I am not btw, I am a fan of Morgan, cannot deny, this guy can fu...ing skate..

I think this is a good signing....For both sides.... I think this a guy, who is a dressing room positive guy....... I bet his teammates are happy to have him for a long time...

Its a long contract, so that is good for Morgan, but for the first four or five years, this is a discount..