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A Look into the Toronto Maple Leafs Early Success

By Jourdan Jones

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Morgan Rielly #44, Auston Matthews #34, Nazem Kadri #43, John Tavares #91 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate the second goal of the game by Matthews against the Dallas Stars in the second period at American Airlines Center on October 9, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Morgan Rielly #44, Auston Matthews #34, Nazem Kadri #43, John Tavares #91 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate the second goal of the game by Matthews against the Dallas Stars in the second period at American Airlines Center on October 9, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 11: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal with Nazem Kadri #43 and Morgan Rielly #44 while playing the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on October 11, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Toronto won the game 4-3. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 11: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his third period goal with Nazem Kadri #43 and Morgan Rielly #44 while playing the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on October 11, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Toronto won the game 4-3. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Morgan Rielly

The second longest tenured Maple Leaf, drafted 5th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Rielly has picked up where he left off last season when he had 50 points and should have been nominated over P.K Subban as a Norris Trophy finalist.

Breaking records set by Bobby Orr for the fastest start by a defenseman with 12 points in seven games, it’s safe to say that Rielly is off to a strong start this season.  After scoring at a record pace to start the year, Rielly is an early favourite to win this years Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.

He might not keep up the scoring pace, but when you consider that he’s partnered with Ron Hainsey, his performance is even better.

With three goals and 13 points through his clubs first seven games, Rielly has improved their defensive core’s outlook. The Vancouver, British Columbia native owns a healthy Corsi For Percentage (CF%) of 52.4% , a number in which calculates his even strength control of the puck and proves his ability to control the game. A strong CF% proves that Rielly is not only helping on the offensive side, but the defensive side as well.

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