The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a fantastic season up until this point. They have persevered through injuries throughout the lineup and currently sit atop the Atlantic division after 43 games.
With so many positive things going on, Toronto Maple Leafs fans have seemingly directed their criticism toward Morgan Rielly, of all people.
His point totals have been down, and there is no denying that. He has played all 43 games and has posted five goals and 15 assists for 20 points (stats from NHL.com) which is down from last year's 58 points, but the Leafs also score less now, and they play a less offensive style.
Although the point totals are down, I think Rielly is receiving an unfair amount of criticism for his play. At the end of the day, his 52% Expected Goals Rating, which is the highest he's posted in four seasons, has the last word - Rielly is obviously playing well.
Morgan Rielly has been valuable to this team
Before I start to defend Rielly, I do want to point out there is room for criticism. One of the biggest points I've seen people make is that you need more production from a guy making 7.5 million dollars (salary statistics from PuckPedia.com). While it's fair to point out that his production is down, within context of the entire team, it's not that bad.
And, to be fair to Rielly, his salary is not even close to what elite number-one defenseman get now. The Leafs not only get excellent value from Rielly's contract, but they couldn't trade him even if they wanted to - he has an ironclad no-movement clause.
If you think Rielly should be a number-one defenseman who dominates the league like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, well that is never going to happen. And of course, the Leafs could use such a player, but they need that player in addition to Rielly, not to replace him.
Rielly is one of the only puck-moving defensemen on the Leafs, and is exceptional at breaking out of his own zone, something the Leafs need more of, not less. Taking Rielly off this team would be detrimental to this team and make this blue line extremely one-dimensional.
This should be expected for a guy at his salary, but he is winning his minutes. His expected goals for percentage is currently at 52.44 percent which means more is going right than bad for the Leafs when he is on the ice (stats from EvolvingHockey.com). People are talking about Rielly like he has hurt this team, but that is ridiculous.
It has also been another year of a revolving door of defense partners for Rielly. Heading into the season, many, including myself, saw the acquisition of Chris Tanev as a way to finally get Rielly a stable partner for a long time. It hasn't turned out that way as the Leafs have found a fantastic pairing in McCabe and Tanev. Rielly has played at least two games with Timmins, Tanev, Myers, McCabe, Benoit and Hakanpaa (stats from MoneyPuck.com).
Rielly is such a vital part of this team throughout the season and is thrown into almost every situation.
Another valid point I don't think people are bringing up is how well Rielly has played in the playoffs as of late for this team. He was their best player throughout the 2022–23 playoffs where he was over a point per game, and last year he was also pretty good.
Morgan Rielly is important for this team in the regular season and is one of the rare players who elevates his game when the playoffs begin. People need to lay off the 12-year NHL veteran because, honestly, he's worth every dollar he's being paid and it would be ridiculous for a team with a blue-line as average as the Leafs to trade their most talented player.