Morgan Rielly has had a disappointing year with the Maple Leafs, to say the least. Expectations were high for the 30-year-old defenceman, after coming off a rough year last year, many would have believed that Rielly would have a bounce-back year heading into 2025-26.
However, that is far from the truth, as his struggles have gotten worse throughout the season. Rielly is no longer capable of being a top-line defenceman.
Rielly's disastrous season
This entire season has been a disaster for Morgan Rielly; he is often looked upon as a defensive liability, which was on full display Saturday night versus the New York Islanders. In a 4-3 overtime loss, Rielly was a minus-4. While not every goal was a direct translation of Rielly being on the ice, both goals from former 1st overall pick Matthew Schaefer, Rielly could have avoided.
During the final stages of the third period, Schaefer carried the puck into the Maple Leafs' zone and darted to the net. Rielly's positioning was terrible, which led to Schaefer beating him to the net. If Rielly had played strong defence and pushed Schaefer to the outside, the Maple Leafs may have won that game in regulation, as the rest of the blueline looked to have been playing strongly. During the overtime portion of the game, the Islanders were heading down into the Leafs' zone. Which looked like it was going to be a simple two on two become a showdown between Joseph Woll and Matthew Schaefer. Matt Barzal carried it into the Maple Leafs zone and attracted both Rielly and Matthew Knies. Knies was the original player who was on Barzal. Rielly then followed Barzal to the outside, which left Schaefer wide open in the slot. For a skilled player, that is the dream. Schaefer then won the game for the Islanders, leaving the Maple Leafs disappointed on a historic night.
Constant defensive mistakes
These are just examples of many defensive lapses by Morgan Rielly this season. The fan base and management would be less hard on Rielly if it weren't for his price tag and his once-offensive ability. Rielly is a player who makes $7.5M for the next four seasons. For a Leafs team that is near the cap, this is a chunk of money to throw at a liability. On the offensive side of the puck, Rielly is a proven point contributor, but with the state of his play, just racking up points is not acceptable. In 40 games this season, Rielly has produced 26 points, with five goals. Yes, he is productive, but not as efficient as Brad Treliving would like. For comparisons, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has one less point, is more reliable defensively, and brings a better physical game while making $4M less for the next two seasons.
Moving on now before it's to late
The Maple Leafs seriously need to consider moving on from their once face of the blueline before it's too late. He is seemingly costing them points when they need them most. For a Leafs team that sits two points out of the playoffs, but has to jump six teams, having a liability that plays big minutes can't happen.