Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly is beloved by the fanbase as the current longest-standing player on the team, but why?
For the past decade, Rielly has been considered the Toronto Maple Leafs No. 1 defenseman, yet is he even a top-30 defenseman in the NHL? He's currently ranked as the 27th highest-paid defenseman in the NHL, but I don't think he's delivering on that contract. [Editor's Note: He is, at least statistically].
It's not that I hate Rielly, nor think that he isn't a top-four defenseman, but on a Stanley Cup roster, I envision him as the third-best defenseman. And unfortunately based on his salary, you can't really afford to put him in that role, unless you traded someone of Marner or Tavares' salary and that isn't happening this year.
Maybe they come off the books this summer and the Leafs go heavy on defensemen in free agency or via trade, but as of right now, the only solution to improve their defense is by trading their highest-paid defenseman.
Rielly's point totals have been fine throughout his career, finishing with 50-plus points on four occassions, including a 72-point campaign in 2018-19, but the goal contribution has been weak. In 834 career games, Rielly only has 85 goals. Currently in his 12th season, he's only averaging seven goals per season and that just isn't good enough for the type of player he's supposed to be.
Leafs Should Consider Trading Morgan Rielly
As mentioned, the assist numbers have been fine, but he has been the beneficiary of playing on the team's number-one power-play with some of the best offensive players in the world. For instance, 37 percent of his assist's are power-play assists. The scariest number is that Rielly only has 15 power-play goals in 12 seasons and during that tenure he has been on the team's number-one unit 95 percent of the time.
If the Leafs want to fix their power-play woes, they can't continue to play Rielly on the top-unit and should actually look to trade him for something cheaper and better. The entire reason why Rielly is here is because he's a great skater and can drive offense, yet he doesn't do any of that on the power-play and that's where the team is struggling.
If the Montreal Canadiens are looking to make a move, Mike Matheson could be a viable option, as he scored five power-play goals last year and only has one more year left on his $4.875M deal. Matheson brings a little bit more size, but more importantly brings a lethal shot from the blue-line, which the Leafs are missing.
Just check out this goal by Matheson against the Boston Bruins last year. Have we seen a Leafs defenseman do this all year? Absolutely not.
If you look across the NHL, every other team's best defenseman contributes on the power-play, such as Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, Aaron Ekblad, Adam Fox, Evan Bouchard and Victor Hedman, yet Rielly doesn't and he's making the same amount of money as Ekblad.
I seriously think that it's time for the Leafs to look under the hood and consider what they have with Rielly because it feels like they're looking at a brand new Ferrari that has a 3-cylinder engine in it. It would be a tough blow to the fanbase, but if done correctly, we could be looking back at this type of move as the catalyst of a championship. (Assuming he'd waive his no-movement clause).