Joined: Jan. 2020
Posts: 6,839
Likes: 5,304
I wouldn't add anything and I wouldn't do the trade as is, and I'll tell you why. But first, let me just say, I love Parayko. He's a fantastic Dman and I don't mean any disrespect to him here. I just think that the skillset Rielly brings has the greater ability to have a stronger overall impact on the team. Parayko's best asset is his defensive play, he's great. But we've seen before (specifically with the Leafs) that one guy who's great at defense (Muzzin for example) won't make too much of a difference on the defensive side of things if the team doesn't play D as a whole. When Rielly came back into the lineup against Tampa, his impact was so evident. He slapped us in the face with the importance of having a guy who could make a clean breakout pass every time the puck was on his stick. He is one of the best transition/offensive Dmen in the game and, yes, he has defensive deficiencies, but I think it would be much easier to bring in a guy to pair with him to nullify that (or just play better team D to take the pressure off him), than it would be to get a guy that brings even half of what he does. Now, having said all that, Morgan Rielly is my favorite player on the Leafs so I'm biased, but I just wouldn't trade him unless it's a clear cut, no doubt about it steal.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
CapFriendly
CapFriendly