The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to be in unfamiliar territory as they’re still way back of a playoff spot. With teams winning and being in the spot that they’re in, it’s looking more likely that the team could be going into sell mode as reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
While many are expecting moves that involve players further down the depth chart, bigger conversations need to be had about some of their veteran players, in particular defender Morgan Rielly. While a big move isn’t to be made now and could be something to circle back on, the veteran defender has continued to be underwhelming this season and even the previous ones as he isn’t looking like a top pairing defender.
While a trade is difficult to make seeing as Rielly has a no-movement clause, if he isn’t going to be a piece moving forward, general manager Brad Treliving needs to approach him to let him know that he may not be part of the future.
Mirtle Suggests Moving on From Rielly
On a Jan. 5th episode of the Leafs Report Podcast, senior writer for The Athletic James Mirtle talked about Rielly’s play this season as it has been less than stellar and he continues to struggle as a top pairing defenseman. It’s what Mirtle said that I continue to find interesting in regards to his future with the roster as it could be in jeopardy with the team.
“We do see players around the league that have no movement clauses that they just say, ‘You’re done here, where do you want to go?’ Unless he turns it around this year, it kind of feels like that’s where it’s going with Rielly in the offseason.” (33:46 mark)
Toronto Maple Leafs Morgan Rielly (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
The Maple Leafs did have a discussion with Rielly in regards to his play at the end of last season. When they were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round at the hands of the Florida Panthers, Rielly talked with Treliving about wanting to be a better performer and be in the right state of mind heading into this season. He wanted to bounce back and prove what he’s capable of and it looked like it at the start as there was a lot of jump to his game.
However, his play has once again waned off and the struggles continue to be evident. While you would expect him to be one of the best players on the ice, in most, he has been far from that. Rielly has been on for the most goals against at five-on-five in the league this season with 63 and high danger goals against with 33. Those numbers aren’t exactly great to see and his play is a contributing factor to that.
Rielly is much slower compared to the competition. He has made poor decisions and reads without the puck and on breakouts, he constantly continues to get walked around every time and is slow defending rushes and on back-checks. A latest example was his game against the Vancouver Canucks where he was on for two even strength goals against, one where he turned the puck over in the middle of the ice in the offensive zone. We know that Rielly is an offensive-minded defender and there should be some give-and-take with his defensive game, but that aspect of his game has progressively got worse and as the game continues to get faster, he continues to be weaker and is unable to keep up with the pace.
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And it’s glaring.
With the season slipping away and a number of players that could be on the move, it’s about time to have a more difficult conversation about moving on from Rielly as he’s not getting any younger.
Maple Leafs and Rielly Need a Split
With Rielly’s play continuing to regress as the season goes on, it’s best that the two find a way to move on from each other. With four more years after this at a cap hit of $7.8 million, it’s definitely more difficult to do considering that Rielly has a full no-move clause. With Mirtle’s comments, it is possible for things like that to happen.
If the team feels like things has run its course and nothing has changed, it makes sense for them to approach Rielly and say that things aren’t going the way they should, we have a different plan in place and unfortunately, you’re not part of the future. As Mirtle said, it’s a difficult conversation to have.
Morgan Rielly and William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate an overtime goal during Game 3 of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Rielly has been with this team for 13 seasons and has seen the highs and especially the lows going through a rebuild himself. He has always been a great character player on and off the ice and has handled everything with class and professionalism. He’s been passionate for all these years and it showed.
Though with that, his production has been average for someone that gets the ice time that he has and the impact hasn’t been as noticeable. Was he ever going to be a consistent 70-point defenseman like his 72 in 2018-19 where he was in then running for the Norris Trophy early on? Probably not, but the lack of offensive consistency since then has played a part. Especially, as he passes up opportunities to shoot in order to pass and vice versa. A change of scenery could be good for him as well.
With things reaching a tipping point in the season, Rielly and the team as a whole have taken a massive step back and have produced disappointing results for a fan base that has suffered through the years. This season is going to be more magnified knowing that missing the playoffs alone is quickly becoming more likely and would be a major disappointment in this current era.
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Rielly was never an elite defenseman, but he was decent. Now, he’s not even close to be being a top pairing defender and the results have showed. His play, defensive abilities and not being able to keep up has been more glaring this season. With the playoffs not looking like a possibility and a re-tool on the horizon, eventually moving Rielly in order to get younger and faster on the blueline is a conversation that needs to be had.
It once again ultimately falls on Rielly to waive and agree to a move, but if the Maple Leafs feel that things aren’t working out a season after an intense meeting, a move needs to get done to benefit both sides.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.
