My Take
Yes, it absolutely is. The presence of Cody Ceci along Rielly makes the potential Norris Trophy winner look uncomfortable, to say the least.
Without any disrespect towards to Ceci, truly. He’s exceeded my expectations so far and has positively surprised me thus far in the season. Alas, he’s just not a fit on Rielly’s side. It’s a waste of everyone’s time, including Ceci.
So why haven’t the Toronto Maple Leafs separated Ceci from Rielly?
The most brought up argument I’ve come across is that it isn’t a choice out of luxury, but out of pure necessity, desperation if you will. I don’t believe that to be the case, ridiculous.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have better options at hand, they choose not to exploit them. From the current top-four defenseman on the active roster, three of them are not part of the long-term plan and will likely be gone after the season, if not sooner.
Despite Rielly being the only player from the current top-four being part of the long-term plan, he’s stuck with a temp who doesn’t, in any fashion, makes him play better or compliments Rielly’s game, that’s not really a long-term thought, is it?
With Barrie and Muzzin as rentals this season, pairing them together will probably only help them in their free-agent status in the summer coming off a good year playing together. The balance might be less, but putting either one of them with Rielly would certainly improve Rielly’s game.
I’m not saying the Toronto Maple Leafs should do something rash like blow a year of Sandin’s or Liljegren’s ELC contract, especially with Dermott returning, but they do need to stop the Cody Ceci experiment.