Although it was widely speculated that new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka would trade longtime defenseman Morgan Rielly this summer, no deal came to fruition.

The longest-tenured player on the Leafs roster is now expected to at least begin the season with the only NHL team he’s ever known — and Chayka revealed why that is the case this week.

“At no point did we ever have what I would characterize as a serious trade opportunity with Morgan Rielly,” Chayka told The Athletic’s Chris Johnston and Jonas Siegel. “As we think about this season and what we’re trying to accomplish and do, certainly getting the puck in the forwards’ hands in positions that they can then go create offense more often is a really big part of what we’re trying to accomplish.

“If you look at Morgan’s career, he’s been able to skate, move the puck and create offense. So at no point was this some situation where we didn’t want Morgan Rielly or we don’t value Morgan Rielly. It’s the opposite. I’ve had very frank, candid conversations with Morgan now over the summer. Like, what an incredible person, and he’s played an important role for this team, and we expect he’ll continue to do that. We’re in a good spot — he’s ready to go for camp and just looking forward.”

Although Rielly provided the Leafs with a four-team list of destinations for which he was willing to waive his no-movement clause, he never formally requested a trade, per Johnston and Siegel.

The 32-year-old struggled mightily under Craig Berube over the last two seasons, enduring his most challenging campaign in nearly a decade in 2025-26. He managed just 36 points in 78 games while finishing with a minus-18 rating.

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With Darren Raddysh acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning — and expected to quarterback the top power-play unit — there’s a real chance Rielly begins the season alongside Chris Tanev, an upgrade from former partner Brandon Carlo.

A new coach in Jim Hiller could also help Rielly rediscover the form that made him such an effective piece of Toronto’s blue line in the past. Now sitting at 951 regular-season games, he ranks second in career points among franchise defensemen with 549.

Rielly has four years remaining on his current contract, and at least for now, it looks like his days as a trade candidate are in the rearview mirror.

The Maple Leafs begin their 2026-27 season against the archrival Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 29.