Top 4 Storylines of Toronto Maple Leafs 2023-24 Season

No. 2: Morgan Rielly Gets Suspended

On February 10, Ottawa Senators Ridly Greig fired a slapshot into an empty-netter to secure a 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which really angered Morgan Rielly.

After the puck went in, Rielly raced over to Grieg and cross-checked him in the head, which resulted in a game misconduct and ultimately a five-game suspension.

The actions by Rielly were debated by everyone in sports media and I personally didn't think it was worth a five-game suspension.

Rielly did exactly what you should do in that situation and sent a message to Greig and the Senators that a play like that is unacceptable. The game was already over, so showboating like that shouldn't have happened and Greig paid a price.

Maybe he shouldn't have cross-checked and should have just pushed him, but it is what is is and I guess the suspension was warranted, although I thought it was too many games.

Anyways, the Leafs went 5-0-0 without Rielly in the line-up and it seemed to spark their season.

At the time, the Leafs were struggling and a playoff-berth wasn't guaranteed, but Rielly's actions showed the team that nobody messes with them and it turned the season around.