Maple Leafs Potential Morgan Rielly Replacement Reportedly Off the Trade Table
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to replace Morgan Rielly eventually, and they could have had a head start with one young blueliner, but new reports have shut that down.
The decline of Morgan Rielly is one that Maple Leafs fans are quickly growing tired of. Besides the obvious defensive shortcomings, his offense hasn't been nearly as good, and his demotion not only off the first PP unit, but to the second line is not a positive sign.
Toronto has a chance to find his replacement with this year's trade deadline, or perhaps they can find a way to get him off the books and bring in the offense they desperately need.
But according to new reports, if they want to replace him they'll need to look past Brandt Clarke.
Brandt Clarke Not Being Traded: David Pagnotta
After being a healthy scratch the last two games by the Los Angeles Kings, rumors ran rampant regarding the potential trade status of Clarke.
But the latest report from The Fourth Period states that GM Rob Blake has zero intention of parting with his young offensive blueliner:
He is not on the trade block. They're not actively trying to trade him. I don't even think they're engaged in any discussions involving Brandt Clarke."
It was as blunt as a statement as can be made, and Pagnotta also speculated the logjam with the Kings is causing some lineup issues:
They like what Jordan Spence and Joel Edmundson have together as a pair. I suspect that will change eventually because they want to get Brandt Clarke back into the lineup. It could be as early as tomorrow in Carolina."
Clarke would have been an incredible get for the Maple Leafs, as he's not only LA's top scoring defenseman, but he's only 21, a former Top 10 pick, and has improved tremendously defensively since last season.
This season he has three goals and 21 assists which is comparable to Rielly's numbers however the big difference lies within the plus/minus. Clarke has a respectably solid plus-8; Rielly however is an unsightly minus-17.
Toronto has already missed out on adding not only Brandon Saad to shore up their defensive depth, but missed out as well on Adam Boqvist (another former Top 10 pick) in addition to Clarke.
It's time for the Maple Leafs to start making headway toward a trade, and as the games pass, the pressure will only grow for Brad Treliving and fans aren't going to make his life any easier.
