Idk if I’m a biased leafs fan but I don’t think either team says yes to the Reilly trade. Is very expensive and canes can’t afford, and Reilly is like the heart and soul of the leafs.

Canes pass.

The Hurricanes laugh at this deal because it involves the second best prospect outside of North America + going for a guy who wouldn't crack the Hurricanes current starting lineup

I know but Nikishin has so much upside, he's a beast in the KHL at only 22. If the Leafs sign key defensemen like above, I think Rielly can be expendable.

You're probably right, worth a shot

By your comment you're saying the Canes coach would sit Rielly over Orlov, Deangelo and Chatfield?

Yes for a few reasons.

1. Rod wouldn't put Rielly on his offside so the only position to take over would be 3LD
2. Orlov has better metrics

Goals (5v5).... .1 per/60 compared to .08
Points(5v5)... 1.11 per/60 compared to 1.09
iG/60 (5v5)... .29 compared .24
Hits/60 (5v5)... 3.93 compared to 2.26
xGA/60 (5v5)... Rielly 2.98 compared to 2.15

Still don't think you're getting a third for Timmins, especially leaving him on the bench.

Orlov doesn't touch Rielly. Give your head a shake.

a 4th maybe. He has some upside and should be a bottom pairing dman on reasonable contract. I honestly don't know why Keefe is playing Benoit over him

Goals (5v5).... .1 per/60 compared to .08
Points(5v5)... 1.11 per/60 compared to 1.09
iG/60 (5v5)... .29 compared .24
Hits/60 (5v5)... 3.93 compared to 2.26
xGA/60 (5v5)... Rielly 2.98 compared to 2.15

He's 25 and still has yet to play 82 NHL games, any upside he had has been realized by now. He's just too injury prone.

Torontos biggest need is on the defensive side of things. So why exactly are we trading our best defenseman, and assistant captain who loves it here for scraps? Why not just keep Rielly instead of Forsling, who is the better player and we know fits in Toronto? I don’t get it

I realize that they’re one of the worst fits for Rielly since they already have Slavin and Orlov on the left side but I can’t see the canes turning this down, they’re getting a top pairing guy for basically nothing all things considered (though admittedly I’m not familiar with the prospect, he might be better than I give him credit for, but still, even if he’s the equivalent of a first round pick this is a steal)

Although to be clear the leafs are not trading Rielly so this conversation is kind of pointless anyways



Possibly the worst take I’ve ever seen on this site and that’s saying a lot. Rielly would be your second best defenseman after Slavin

Nikishin is one the highest regarded prospects not in NA. Canes have made him untouchable and are setting up the roster for his arrival. Getting older and more expensive isn’t of much interest to the Canes especially taking on a deal that will carry Reilly well passed his sell by date.

"Rielly would be your second best defenseman after Slavin"... that's a hilariously bad take in itself... I'd take Slavin, Burns, Skjei, and maybe Orlov over Rielly especially in the system the Canes play. Burns is on pace for 15+ goals, Skjei is on pace for about 50 points and 12 goals and Orlov has been much much better the last month or so and they are all way above average defensivly.

Reilly has a terrible contract, and just on the off chance the Canes are stupid enough to make this trade, Reilly would be playing 3LD. The only member of the Canes current dcore he is better than is Chatfield and TDA. Nikishin was labeled as untouchable for several high profile targets. A big reason they signed Orlov was so that the Canes could set the stage for Nikishin. He isn’t getting traded, period.

Fair enough I hadn’t heard of the guy so I was obviously underrating him a bit.

It’s not a bad take, Rielly has at least 6 more points than any hurricanes defenseman, has consistently been able to put up more points than any of them excluding Burns (but Burns is old and on the decline), and has always stepped it up big time in the playoffs (which I’m not saying none of the hurricanes d men do that, but still).

Oh and PS he munches more minutes

The only guy on that d core I would take over Rielly is Slavin (I’m a huge fan of Slavin, I think he’s one of the leagues best shut down d men). But saying you’d take Burns and Skjei over Rielly is a fairly laughable take.

Points aren't everything especially when you are talking about defensemen. He puts up a lot of points on the PP with Matthews and plays in a more offensively friendly system. According to Evolving Hockey's model, Rielly has been not great on defense this year... -1.2 GAR, and this is backed up when you look at some of the stats compared to when he's on the ice vs off. He munches a lot of minutes because he is one of only two quality defensemen on that roster while the Hurricanes are just able to roll three very good to elite pairings.

Comparison of their GAR (evolvinghockey)

I mean you gave me points for stats at first. I’m not suggesting they’re everything especially for a defenseman but it’s hard to argue Rielly hasn’t been better than Skjei, because let’s face it, he’s been stuck playing with less then ideal partners for much of his career and those are going to drag his stats down

"he’s been stuck playing with less then ideal partners for much of his career and those are going to drag his stats down"... That's a fair part of the equation but these last few years he's been with TJ Brodie who's more than a capable defensive partner.

Yes absolutely, Brodie has been a great fit beside Mo so that doesn’t apply to the last 3-4 years but any of Riellys early years that was a major issue