Ovie is a winger, Patty Kane is a winger, Pasta is a winger, Kucherov is a winger, Tkatchuk, Ranatanen, Marner, etc.. This “positional value” argument gets so overplayed - a good player is a good player, and an elite player is elite no matter the position

Well from my point of view this is a Trainwreck for a contending team. They lose by far the better player (it's not remotely close) and get nothing to help them contend now.

I dunno I would like Connor Murphy in that spot or maybe Dylan Demelo as they would play 18-22 minutes with Reilly but not sure they are OTM now...you could try for a guy like Wil Borgen or Josh Brown or Matt Benning and just play him like they played Schenn but expecting the same results I mean, to be fair I didn't think Schenn would slide in so well...he reminded me of a Bob Rouse way back in the day when Leafs came close...for whatever reason(s) Reilly and his rover style have been so hard to pair with...

Some talk about Parayko but thats a big cap commitment for the Leafs given what they have already doled out.

Any ideas?

Honestly, at this point Rielly is turning 30 in March and isn't getting any younger. So, if they can't find someone internally or a lost cost acquisition like Schenn that can pair with him, it's not really worth trying to force it at this point. He is locked in for another 6-years but that's why I think in the next couple of years trying to draft someone and develop guy like Niemela. Rielly needs to be more of a a mentor going forward. Maybe he can help Liljegren to take his game to the next level.

The other option is waiting for a guy like Pesce to hut the free agency in the next two years but it will most likely be someone who is 27-30 to pair with Rielly eho will be 31 or 32, so even if they end up being a dynsmite pairing it's likely to be short lived.

Don't get me wrong, I think Rielly could be great throughout his entire contract but I think with the amount of talent that seems to be coming into the League, thr stsndard will be much higher for a #1D in 3-4 years.