The Toronto Maple Leafs Need the Old Mo Rielly Back
Morgan Rielly has been a stalwart player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, now in his 12th year since being drafted 5th overall by Toronto in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. It’s hard to believe Rielly is only 30 years old, as it seems like he’s worn the blue and white forever.
Over the previous three seasons, Rielly solidified himself as the best defenceman on a team not known for its defensive prowess. Not really standing out in any one particular area, he has made a name for himself by being above average offensively and okay defensively, but most of all a consistent, reliable, highly respected leader.
For much of that stretch, Rielly was the quarterback of the first powerplay unit (despite not having a hard shot) due to his skating ability, good passing and reliable puckhandling. He made good decisions in his own end, instigated quick breakouts, and was at least average defensively (physicality and one-on-one defending were sometimes an issue).
For whatever reason, however, the wheels seem to have come off this season. Rielly just looks to be struggling almost every night, and the production statistics back up that assessment. He had 58 points last year in 72 games (.81 ppg) but only 20 so far this season (.43 ppg).
He has committed 57 giveaways already this season versus 61 for all of last year (all stats per naturalstattrick.com). Rielly has 9 takeaways this year (27 last year). Only 18 hits (98 previously). Only 65 blocked shots (137 last year). Though his Expected Goal numbers are solid, the Leafs need way more production from Rielly.
Since his on-ice numbers are fairly strong, I think it's fair to say that a lot of his loss of production can be attributed to Craig Berube's new system which has almost no rush chances, and severly limits creativity.
Also, while TJ Brodie fell off a cliff last year, he was previously a very good partner for Rielly and the two were a very good pairing. This year, playing mostly with OEL and Phillippe Myers, Rielly has struggled to find chemistry with a new partner.
There has been recent speculation about whether GM Brad Trevling should look to trade Rielly, despite his no-movement clause. This would be a mistake. Toronto is already defence-poor, and finding reliable (not to mention high-character) d-men is not that easy.