Faizal Khamisa and Steve Dangle discussed Morgan Rielly's 8-year/$60 million renewal contract with the Maple Leafs and what this means for him, the team and the salary cap.

Morgan Rayleigh left the money on the table.

The guard market has definitely exploded over the past period of time. As you can see, when Rielly ranks in his position with other recently signed players, his value is very impressive.

In the near future, this is a huge victory for the Maple Leafs, although when Rielly hits her 30s, it is already over 8 years old, which may make it look less like a future victory. .

But this can be dealt with later-or when the upper limit rises again, hoping to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Rielly is Toronto's No. 1 defensive player. Here is how his $7.5 million cap (to play next season) compares with some of the other No. 1 players who have signed for a long time since the opening of free agency in October 2020.

It remains to be discussed how many of the defensive players listed above rank Rielly ahead, but if he tests the UFA market, it is clear that Rielly can make more money. His $7.5 million tied with Aaron Ekblad, ranking 18th among all NHL defensive players, and Ekblad played in duty-free Florida. Rielly's salary is slightly higher than Kris Letang (signed $7.25 million in 2013) and $1 million higher than Torey Krug (signed $6.5 million as UFA in 2020).

From another perspective, Rielly's contract looks better.

As we discussed when Aleksander Barkov signed his big deal with the Panthers, when comparing deals signed over the years, it’s important to consider the “capped hit rate at the time of signing”. Rielly's ceiling reached 9.2% of today's $81.5 million ceiling. According to this standard, he is ranked 24th in his position, so in comparison, he is the low-end first.

The price here and now is the victory of the Maple Leafs, and the long-term effects can be dealt with as they arise. The only important thing for the Leafs these days is to finally overcome the playoff hump they dodge.

But this will definitely change how we look at this team's calculations in all aspects of the future, including:

• Trade prospects. Rielly has an immovable clause throughout the transaction and this season. When the Leafs started off badly—before the murderers in Tampa, Vegas, and Boston next week—there was some slight panic, at least outside. If the Leafs continue to encounter problems after a late start, dull play, difficult offensive transitions, and high-quality defensive shooting, will the management feel the need to solve them earlier than expected? What transactions need to be made?

In this case, considering his uncertain future with the team, Rielly, as a pending UFA, is a name that will appear as a candidate. It is no longer in the scope of consideration now, he is part of this matter. Therefore, whether the Leafs continue to struggle and seek reorganization during the season, or what happened after another early exit in the summer, then this big move must now come from elsewhere.

• The situation in the net. Jack Campbell is the only outstanding UFA that the Leafs won at a significant price, and Rielly's re-signing has made Campbell's salary prospects even more tense. He is now earning $1.65 million, but it has become one of Toronto's positive factors early. Substitute Petr Mrazek signed a three-year contract for $3.8 million in the offseason. A better comparability with Campbell may be Carl Peterson, the 27-year-old goalkeeper succeeded him in Los Angeles. Peterson signed a three-year, $5 million AAV. Assuming no discount, this might be Campbell's stadium.

Currently, Toronto has invested $48 million in five players next season: Alston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Mana, William Niland and Raleigh. This is the core, and the upper limit of 58.8% belongs to them. Adding to the TJ Brodie and Jake Muzzin deal, 71.9% of the salary cap goes to seven players.

Even if the salary cap did increase by $1 million (even if Phil Kessel's $1.2 million retained salary was cancelled), Toronto still only has about $6.385 million in salary cap space available for the summer. No contract renewal with Campbell, no RFA (Ondrej Kase, Pierre Engvall, Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren), or another sign Jason Spezza.

"Goalkeepers will be our top priority, leave room for us, and then use whatever else we have left. Brandon (Pridham) and I went through this disgusting thing, beyond everyone’s Imagine," Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said after signing Rielly. "It will be about adjusting the rest of the roster to fit and build the best team we can do."

However, this does not necessarily mean that any major measures need to be taken to change the outlook for the season. For these Maple Leafs team, this is always a decisive year-once again disappointed expectations, all bets have been cancelled. The front desk and the coach will have problems, and the core team on the ice will have problems. The other team is disappointed, and the entire Shanaplan may explode.

So yes, the upper limit issue is about to emerge. How do you keep Campbell with it all, or can you find another goalkeeper to replace him? These are all issues that will be discussed another day, and will not really be resolved until the team builds another crack. The management clearly communicated that the plan is about to be launched.

In any case, this lineup will always change to some degree in the summer. Whether this is a big change (Nelander? Mana?) or a smaller change (Justin Hall? Alexander Kerfurt?) depends on the team's ice performance.

It seems that the only difference today is that Rielly has now been removed from the equation. And the cost of doing so is not high at all.

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