Mo Rielly - "Our Norris Trophy Candidate"

[Gary Nylund]

I’ve been very critical of his decision making this year

But this thread is just out of hand

People are acting like he’s not even an NHL player. He’s not Hedman. But he’s definitely good at what he does. It sucks that he has some holes in his game but there is no perfect hockey player (well outside of Matthews).

+1

I have no idea WTF is going on here anymore.

 

[fahad203]

+1

I have no idea WTF is going on here anymore.

People here are becomign edgy. Especially after last year.

We know this team will gather up points, it always does. But last year, there were decisions made by coaching staff which was to me a bit baffling

People here are seeing the trends again. Our PP is just trash. How can that be?
We have few of the most potent players in the league and best goal scorer

If we get a PP, it should be an automatic goal in my opinion with the personnel we have. Yet it's not even a threat

We lost to Boston few years strictly on special teams. So I don't want anyone telling me it does't matter

Like the constant play of Simmonds and Joe. Before that it was Barabanov, Vesey, Petan and few others
Everyone saw them for what they were, trash. Yet some how our coaching staff felt if you play them long enough, they'll come around

It's a short season, no time for experiment and try to build field good stories. Just go with 1 team, and let them build chemistry

I have yet to see Keefe make a difficult decision.

 

[justloveleafs]

Borje is going to laugh at this one, and maybe be a trifle insulted, but Mo is the best skating dman, I have seen play for the Leafs. Borje second and Horton third.

The guy just carries the puck so well. If he had a stronger shot and was more stud on D, I think he would be polishing a lot of Norris trophies.

Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Neidemeyer, Housley Bourque etc... great to watch, mobile dmen.

I think Mo can be added to that list. Not the best of them all obviously, skating wise. But way up there.

It would be awfully strange for me, to not see him in the blue and white.

From all reports he is well liked by his teammates. He actually took a wrist shot about three or four games back that had some serious whistle on it. I thought he was about to break out of the muffin factory. Well, one can hope.

 

[Gary Nylund]

People here are becomign edgy. Especially after last year.

We know this team will gather up points, it always does. But last year, there were decisions made by coaching staff which was to me a bit baffling

People here are seeing the trends again. Our PP is just trash. How can that be?
We have few of the most potent players in the league and best goal scorer

If we get a PP, it should be an automatic goal in my opinion with the personnel we have. Yet it's not even a threat

We lost to Boston few years strictly on special teams. So I don't want anyone telling me it does't matter

Like the constant play of Simmonds and Joe. Before that it was Barabanov, Vesey, Petan and few others
Everyone saw them for what they were, trash. Yet some how our coaching staff felt if you play them long enough, they'll come around

It's a short season, no time for experiment and try to build field good stories. Just go with 1 team, and let them build chemistry

I have yet to see Keefe make a difficult decision.

90% of this has nothing to do with Rielly (see thread title).

I agree the special teams are a big problem, without a doubt we need to get that fixed.

We've been way too good under Keefe for me to complain about anything at this stage.

Simmonds was great before getting injured. Have some patience here, I'm hoping he will be big for us in the playoffs and am more than happy to give him all the time he needs to get his game in gear.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Of All #1 Dmen:

Even Strength Goal Differential aka Goals For Percentage :

1. COL C.Makar 67.5%
2. TOR M.Rielly 61.9%
3. NYR A.Fox 60.1%
4. CAR J.Slavin 57.9%
5. NYI A.Pelech 57.8%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 57.7%
7. BOS C.McAvoy 57.6%
8. PIT K.Letang 57.1%
9. STL J.Faulk 56.5%
10. VGK A.Pietrangelo 55.6%
11. TBL V.Hedman 54.9%
12. EDM D.Nurse 54.8%
13. WSH J.Carlson 54.3%
14. WPG N.Pionk 53.2%
15. MTL S.Weber 52.9%
16. LAK D.Doughty 52.1%
17. ARZ J.Chychrun 51.9%
18. VAN N.Schmidt 50.3%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.8%
20. DAL M.Heiskanen 49.1%
21. MIN J.Spurgeon 48.2%
22. PHI I.Provorov 48.0%
23. ANA C.Fowler 46.7%
24. CGY M.Giordano 46.2%
25. SJS B.Burns 45.7%
26. CBJ S.Jones 45.5%
27. NSH R.Josi 44.8%
28. NJD D.Severson 43.2%
29. OTT T.Chabot 38.9%
30. DET F.Hronek 34.6%
31. BUF R.Dahlin 31.4


Expected Goals For %

1. NYI A.Pelech 62.7%
2. COL C.Makar 61.3%
3. BOS C.McAvoy 56.7%
4. TOR M.Rielly 56.3%
5. NYR A.Fox 56.2%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 55.2%
7. MTL S.Weber 54.9%
8. CAR J.Slavin 54.7%
9. NSH R.Josi 53.9%
10. MIN N.Spurgeon 53.3%
11. NJD D.Severson 53.1%
12. EDM D.Nurse 50.8%
13. TBL V.Hedman 50.6%
14. DAL M.Heiskanen 50.4%
15. SJS B.Burns 50.4%
16. ARZ J.Chychrun 49.9%
17. WSH J.Carlson 49.6%
18. VGK A.Pietrangelo 49.2%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.2%
20. VAN N.Schmidt 48.6%
21. WPG N.Pionk 48.6%
22. DET F.Hronek 48.2%
23. ANA C.Fowler 47.6%
24. PHI I.Provorov 47.6%
25. LAK D.Doughty 47.5%
26. STL J.Faulk 47.3%
27. PIT K.Letang 46.8%
28. OTT T.Chabot 45.9%
29. CGY M.Giordano 45.2%
30. BUF R.Dahlin 44.4%
31. CBJ S.Jones 44.1%

But Rielly is an example of where metrics are misleading. Fans' eye-tests though? Impeccable. My favourite is when a player does the right thing or makes a good play and they think it was a mistake.

He's a #1 defenseman. A bottom half of the league #1 defenseman, but a #1 defenseman nonetheless. Also our best overall defenseman by far, and is not a disaster defensively no matter how much people choose to say it.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I agree the special teams are a big problem, without a doubt we need to get that fixed.

What is interesting is Rielly probably gets the most blame out of any player (Malhotra is getting the most blame right now overall) but he probably needs to adjust the least. He is doing what he should be doing outside of having to take desperation shots (which is why people think he constantly hits shin pads, etc.), but even that will go down once he has more options besides taking those shots.

One thing I wouldn't mind Rielly doing if he has some space and opportunity would be to skate into a wrister. He is not a guy who has a great one-timer but he has a nice wrister that is easy to tip or can get past a screened goalie.

 

[justloveleafs]

Ya I know Gary, but I can feel, Leafnation ready to pounce on a guy, who in my mind, has played pretty hard for us, entertained anyone who appreciates a beautiful skater, with straight away speed, and lateral mobility.

I try to not get affected by emotion when following my beloved Leafs. Its really hard of course. Not only do I have to fight with my own emotions, I have to listen to a lot of others. Well I don't have to, but I do like seeing what the sentiment is.

Can we win the Cup? Yes its possible. But there are some darn good teams up there also.

I want to congratulate Dubas on not trading any of our current prospects. None of them.

In return, he got us a decent NHL backup in Rittich, which to me is as important as Foligno.

He got us an old warrior in Foligno, who is playing for a contract, and wants to set a mark. Might, and I say, might, be really good.

I also like the add of Riley Nash, this is a real good add imo.

Again, no Liljegren given up, no Robertson. This kid from St. Cloud? Someone posted a clip of his shot the other day.

Might be the most lethal wrister, I have ever seen, and we keep him.

The Toronto Maple Leafs style of play is tiring. Carrying the puck is three times more exhausting, than well conditioned guys not carrying the puck, clogging up the ice.

Our team is imo, tired.

Here is another tactical move. Do Dubas and Keefe exercise load management? I think in a way they already have.

First, second, third or fourth? Its all about advancing in the playoffs.

I would like to see Matthews rested, Hyman rested, Marner rested. In spots.

Lets take the Raps template employed for Kawhi, and take it up another notch.

This ain't checkers, its chess. Hyman just cannot keep doing this game after game, give the guy a rest. lets play some kids who have something to prove. We built up the points.

Its a covid season.... Lets take the negative and work it our way

I want to see Matthews rested from time to time. Small. same for Marner.

Additionally Leaf fans who can barely wait till the playoffs, get to see some Liljegren. Some Robertson.

Out of left field comment. I have to hand it to Milan Lucic. He really impressed me last night. Sabourin obviously asked him to fight, Lucic obliged. Sabourin cut him, which would have pissed off almost any guy who fights.

Lucic got him and put him down and Sabourin was open due to the ref being out of position.

Milan had a career breaking moment for Sabourin, with a clear right hand to the face.

It was open season. Lucic let him go.

I always liked Lucic, outside of my hate, he has something. The compassion of a gorilla I suppose.

Lucic, let him go. Some posters here, who watch more games than I do, said Lucic had class that way. Well let me second them. He could have really done some damage to the guy.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Ya I know Gary, but I can feel, Leafnation ready to pounce on a guy, who in my mind, has played pretty hard for us, entertained anyone who appreciates a beautiful skater, with straight away speed, and lateral mobility.

I try to not get affected by emotion when following my beloved Leafs. Its really hard of course. Not only do I have to fight with my own emotions, I have to listen to a lot of others. Well I don't have to, but I do like seeing what the sentiment is.

Can we win the Cup? Yes its possible. But there are some darn good teams up there also.

I want to congratulate Dubas on not trading any of our current prospects. None of them.

In return, he got us a decent NHL backup in Rittich, which to me is as important as Foligno.

He got us an old warrior in Foligno, who is playing for a contract, and wants to set a mark. Might, and I say, might, be really good.

I also like the add of Riley Nash, this is a real good add imo.

Again, no Liljegren given up, no Robertson. This kid from St. Cloud? Someone posted a clip of his shot the other day.

Might be the most lethal wrister, I have ever seen, and we keep him.

The Toronto Maple Leafs style of play is tiring. Carrying the puck is three times more exhausting, than well conditioned guys not carrying the puck, clogging up the ice.

Our team is imo, tired.

Here is another tactical move. Do Dubas and Keefe exercise load management? I think in a way they already have.

First, second, third or fourth? Its all about advancing in the playoffs.

I would like to see Matthews rested, Hyman rested, Marner rested. In spots.

Lets take the Raps template employed for Kawhi, and take it up another notch.

We only play 7 games in the last 18 days of the season so I am not sure they want too much rest.

The next week and a half is busy but we also play the Jets for most of those games and we probably want to find some chemistry with Foligno in that time as well. Probably would be good to rest up Simmonds and Spezza a bit though.

 

[klmdg]

Of All #1 Dmen:

Even Strength Goal Differential aka Goals For Percentage :

1. COL C.Makar 67.5%
2. TOR M.Rielly 61.9%
3. NYR A.Fox 60.1%
4. CAR J.Slavin 57.9%
5. NYI A.Pelech 57.8%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 57.7%
7. BOS C.McAvoy 57.6%
8. PIT K.Letang 57.1%
9. STL J.Faulk 56.5%
10. VGK A.Pietrangelo 55.6%
11. TBL V.Hedman 54.9%
12. EDM D.Nurse 54.8%
13. WSH J.Carlson 54.3%
14. WPG N.Pionk 53.2%
15. MTL S.Weber 52.9%
16. LAK D.Doughty 52.1%
17. ARZ J.Chychrun 51.9%
18. VAN N.Schmidt 50.3%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.8%
20. DAL M.Heiskanen 49.1%
21. MIN J.Spurgeon 48.2%
22. PHI I.Provorov 48.0%
23. ANA C.Fowler 46.7%
24. CGY M.Giordano 46.2%
25. SJS B.Burns 45.7%
26. CBJ S.Jones 45.5%
27. NSH R.Josi 44.8%
28. NJD D.Severson 43.2%
29. OTT T.Chabot 38.9%
30. DET F.Hronek 34.6%
31. BUF R.Dahlin 31.4


Expected Goals For %

1. NYI A.Pelech 62.7%
2. COL C.Makar 61.3%
3. BOS C.McAvoy 56.7%
4. TOR M.Rielly 56.3%
5. NYR A.Fox 56.2%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 55.2%
7. MTL S.Weber 54.9%
8. CAR J.Slavin 54.7%
9. NSH R.Josi 53.9%
10. MIN N.Spurgeon 53.3%
11. NJD D.Severson 53.1%
12. EDM D.Nurse 50.8%
13. TBL V.Hedman 50.6%
14. DAL M.Heiskanen 50.4%
15. SJS B.Burns 50.4%
16. ARZ J.Chychrun 49.9%
17. WSH J.Carlson 49.6%
18. VGK A.Pietrangelo 49.2%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.2%
20. VAN N.Schmidt 48.6%
21. WPG N.Pionk 48.6%
22. DET F.Hronek 48.2%
23. ANA C.Fowler 47.6%
24. PHI I.Provorov 47.6%
25. LAK D.Doughty 47.5%
26. STL J.Faulk 47.3%
27. PIT K.Letang 46.8%
28. OTT T.Chabot 45.9%
29. CGY M.Giordano 45.2%
30. BUF R.Dahlin 44.4%
31. CBJ S.Jones 44.1%

Not only does Brodie rank first on the Leafs D in both those categories, the gap between him and Rielly is greater than the gap between Rielly and Muzzin

Now let’s look at their PP numbers:

PP TOI/GP
Brodie 52 seconds
Rielly 176 seconds

On Ice PP GF
Brodie 6
Rielly 18

On Ice PP GF/GP
Brodie 0.115
Rielly 0.102

Leafs score PP goals at a slightly higher rate with Brodie on the ice and he only sees occasional duty on PP2

Now let’s look at their SH numbers:

SH TOI/GP
Brodie 105 seconds
Rielly 26 seconds

On Ice SH GA
Brodie 10
Rielly 4

On Ice SH GA/GP
Brodie 0.095
Rielly 0.154

Leafs are far more likely to give up a SH goal with Rielly on the ice and he barely sees time on it

Brodie is way more important to this team than Rielly

If he was given PP1 time and didn’t spend half the game covering for his partner 5v5, his offensive impact would also be much higher

I have no problem with Mo going forward, but he is nowhere close to a must keep, especially at dollars above what he is currently getting

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Of All #1 Dmen:

Even Strength Goal Differential aka Goals For Percentage :

1. COL C.Makar 67.5%
2. TOR M.Rielly 61.9%
3. NYR A.Fox 60.1%
4. CAR J.Slavin 57.9%
5. NYI A.Pelech 57.8%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 57.7%
7. BOS C.McAvoy 57.6%
8. PIT K.Letang 57.1%
9. STL J.Faulk 56.5%
10. VGK A.Pietrangelo 55.6%
11. TBL V.Hedman 54.9%
12. EDM D.Nurse 54.8%
13. WSH J.Carlson 54.3%
14. WPG N.Pionk 53.2%
15. MTL S.Weber 52.9%
16. LAK D.Doughty 52.1%
17. ARZ J.Chychrun 51.9%
18. VAN N.Schmidt 50.3%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.8%
20. DAL M.Heiskanen 49.1%
21. MIN J.Spurgeon 48.2%
22. PHI I.Provorov 48.0%
23. ANA C.Fowler 46.7%
24. CGY M.Giordano 46.2%
25. SJS B.Burns 45.7%
26. CBJ S.Jones 45.5%
27. NSH R.Josi 44.8%
28. NJD D.Severson 43.2%
29. OTT T.Chabot 38.9%
30. DET F.Hronek 34.6%
31. BUF R.Dahlin 31.4


Expected Goals For %

1. NYI A.Pelech 62.7%
2. COL C.Makar 61.3%
3. BOS C.McAvoy 56.7%
4. TOR M.Rielly 56.3%
5. NYR A.Fox 56.2%
6. FLA A.Ekblad 55.2%
7. MTL S.Weber 54.9%
8. CAR J.Slavin 54.7%
9. NSH R.Josi 53.9%
10. MIN N.Spurgeon 53.3%
11. NJD D.Severson 53.1%
12. EDM D.Nurse 50.8%
13. TBL V.Hedman 50.6%
14. DAL M.Heiskanen 50.4%
15. SJS B.Burns 50.4%
16. ARZ J.Chychrun 49.9%
17. WSH J.Carlson 49.6%
18. VGK A.Pietrangelo 49.2%
19. CHI C.Murphy 49.2%
20. VAN N.Schmidt 48.6%
21. WPG N.Pionk 48.6%
22. DET F.Hronek 48.2%
23. ANA C.Fowler 47.6%
24. PHI I.Provorov 47.6%
25. LAK D.Doughty 47.5%
26. STL J.Faulk 47.3%
27. PIT K.Letang 46.8%
28. OTT T.Chabot 45.9%
29. CGY M.Giordano 45.2%
30. BUF R.Dahlin 44.4%
31. CBJ S.Jones 44.1%

Playing all the big minutes on a offensively elite team would never have anything to do with them stats now would it. Defensively we know he’s not all that

 

[Gary Nylund]

Now let’s look at their PP numbers:

PP TOI/GP
Brodie 52 seconds
Rielly 176 seconds

On Ice PP GF
Brodie 6
Rielly 18

On Ice PP GF/GP
Brodie 0.115
Rielly 0.102

Leafs score PP goals at a slightly higher rate with Brodie on the ice and he only sees occasional duty on PP2

The difference between the two is negligible, so small that's it's irrelevant.

Now let’s look at their SH numbers:

SH TOI/GP
Brodie 105 seconds
Rielly 26 seconds

On Ice SH GA
Brodie 10
Rielly 4

On Ice SH GA/GP
Brodie 0.095
Rielly 0.154

Leafs are far more likely to give up a SH goal with Rielly on the ice and he barely sees time on it

Brodie is way more important to this team than Rielly

If he was given PP1 time and didn’t spend half the game covering for his partner 5v5, his offensive impact would also be much higher

I have no problem with Mo going forward, but he is nowhere close to a must keep, especially at dollars above what he is currently getting

Giving up goals on the PP is basically a freak occurrence. Something that happens less than once a month isn't a big enough sample size to be meaningful.

No player is a must keep and if a player wants too much money then it might be time to move on from the. That's true for Rielly but it's also true for every player so not news really.

 

[ICBM]

Giving up goals on the PP is basically a freak occurrence.

Yeah, incidents happen to everybody. More often to fools though.

 

[zeke]

Not only does Brodie rank first on the Leafs D in both those categories, the gap between him and Rielly is greater than the gap between Rielly and Muzzin

Now let’s look at their PP numbers:

PP TOI/GP
Brodie 52 seconds
Rielly 176 seconds

On Ice PP GF
Brodie 6
Rielly 18

On Ice PP GF/GP
Brodie 0.115
Rielly 0.102

Leafs score PP goals at a slightly higher rate with Brodie on the ice and he only sees occasional duty on PP2

Now let’s look at their SH numbers:

SH TOI/GP
Brodie 105 seconds
Rielly 26 seconds

On Ice SH GA
Brodie 10
Rielly 4

On Ice SH GA/GP
Brodie 0.095
Rielly 0.154

Leafs are far more likely to give up a SH goal with Rielly on the ice and he barely sees time on it

Brodie is way more important to this team than Rielly

If he was given PP1 time and didn’t spend half the game covering for his partner 5v5, his offensive impact would also be much higher

I have no problem with Mo going forward, but he is nowhere close to a must keep, especially at dollars above what he is currently getting

Yes Brodie has a tiny bit better numbers in a full minute and a half less of even strength toi per game, which doesnt support any of your conclusions above.

 

[The Apologist]

Ya I know Gary, but I can feel, Leafnation ready to pounce on a guy, who in my mind, has played pretty hard for us, entertained anyone who appreciates a beautiful skater, with straight away speed, and lateral mobility.

I try to not get affected by emotion when following my beloved Leafs. Its really hard of course. Not only do I have to fight with my own emotions, I have to listen to a lot of others. Well I don't have to, but I do like seeing what the sentiment is.

Can we win the Cup? Yes its possible. But there are some darn good teams up there also.

I want to congratulate Dubas on not trading any of our current prospects. None of them.

In return, he got us a decent NHL backup in Rittich, which to me is as important as Foligno.

He got us an old warrior in Foligno, who is playing for a contract, and wants to set a mark. Might, and I say, might, be really good.

I also like the add of Riley Nash, this is a real good add imo.

Again, no Liljegren given up, no Robertson. This kid from St. Cloud? Someone posted a clip of his shot the other day.

Might be the most lethal wrister, I have ever seen, and we keep him.

The Toronto Maple Leafs style of play is tiring. Carrying the puck is three times more exhausting, than well conditioned guys not carrying the puck, clogging up the ice.

Our team is imo, tired.

Here is another tactical move. Do Dubas and Keefe exercise load management? I think in a way they already have.

First, second, third or fourth? Its all about advancing in the playoffs.

I would like to see Matthews rested, Hyman rested, Marner rested. In spots.

Lets take the Raps template employed for Kawhi, and take it up another notch.

This ain't checkers, its chess. Hyman just cannot keep doing this game after game, give the guy a rest. lets play some kids who have something to prove. We built up the points.

Its a covid season.... Lets take the negative and work it our way

I want to see Matthews rested from time to time. Small. same for Marner.

Additionally Leaf fans who can barely wait till the playoffs, get to see some Liljegren. Some Robertson.

Out of left field comment. I have to hand it to Milan Lucic. He really impressed me last night. Sabourin obviously asked him to fight, Lucic obliged. Sabourin cut him, which would have pissed off almost any guy who fights.

Lucic got him and put him down and Sabourin was open due to the ref being out of position.

Milan had a career breaking moment for Sabourin, with a clear right hand to the face.

It was open season. Lucic let him go.

I always liked Lucic, outside of my hate, he has something. The compassion of a gorilla I suppose.

Lucic, let him go. Some posters here, who watch more games than I do, said Lucic had class that way. Well let me second them. He could have really done some damage to the guy.

It would be less tiring if they weren't constantly carrying opposition players.

 

[klmdg]

The difference between the two is negligible, so small that's it's irrelevant.

Yes Brodie has a tiny bit better numbers in a full minute and a half less of even strength toi per game, which doesnt support any of your conclusions above.

When the same stats used to 'support' Mo as a top of the line #1D are used to show he isn't even #1 on his own team they are suddenly irrelevant?

Keefe does not trust him to kill pens because Mo has no idea how to actually play D

Like what the f*** was he doing on the Suzuki PP goal Monday night?

He skated at the threat, then immediately backed off towards Campbell to set up a screen for Suzuki to walk in uncontested and snipe it

He only gets more 5v5 time over Brodie because he literally jumps on the ice when Brodie goes off after a kill

Meanwhile, in the o-zone, he spends most of his 5v5 time wandering aimlessly into the opp corner while Brodie holds the line ready to bail him out

And, if Brodie goes full Reilly 5v5, it's a guaranteed goal against because Mo still has no clue how to defend a 2v1 as an elite #1 d-man at the age of 27

Even in his career year, Jake Gardiner had better metrics while having tougher usage

 

[zeke]

When the same stats used to 'support' Mo as a top of the line #1D are used to show he isn't even #1 on his own team they are suddenly irrelevant?

Keefe does not trust him to kill pens because Mo has no idea how to actually play D

Like what the f*** was he doing on the Suzuki PP goal Monday night?

He skated at the threat, then immediately backed off towards Campbell to set up a screen for Suzuki to walk in uncontested and snipe it

He only gets more 5v5 time over Brodie because he literally jumps on the ice when Brodie goes off after a kill

Meanwhile, in the o-zone, he spends most of his 5v5 time wandering aimlessly into the opp corner while Brodie holds the line ready to bail him out

And, if Brodie goes full Reilly 5v5, it's a guaranteed goal against because Mo still has no clue how to defend a 2v1 as an elite #1 d-man at the age of 27

Even in his career year, Jake Gardiner had better metrics while having tougher usage

What's fascinating about it is that brodie actually has the easier job on the pairing - without an elite puckmover like rielly beside him, brodie would be in a much tougher situation and depended on much more to be the puckmover himself.

Thanks to rielly carrying the pairing's puck movement, brodie can limit himself to what he does well, and keep himself in good defensive position always.

 

[klmdg]

What's fascinating about it is that brodie actually has the easier job on the pairing - without an elite puckmover like rielly beside him, brodie would be in a much tougher situation and depended on much more to be the puckmover himself.

Thanks to rielly carrying the pairing's puck movement, brodie can limit himself to what he does well, and keep himself in good defensive position always.

Logic is fine, but there is one major problem: Rielly’s best statistical seasons have been with Brodie and Hainsey as his most common partner and in most metrics, both have outperformed him on the same team when they are away from him

Rielly does not carry anyone, he is the one who gets carried

Although it is a very small sample, the Leafs are better offensively when Brodie and Muzzin are together 5v5

Do I think Brodie is a better skater and puck mover than Rielly? NO

Do I think Brodie is a more effective puck mover (keeps it simple) than Rielly? YES

 

[Stephen]

Sam Girard is one of my favorite puck moving, skating and rushing defensemen in the game and his ability to QB well has a lot to do with high end processing in high pressure moments and ability to find the open lane in transition without getting caught in a traffic jam. What Rielly's offensive game seems to be missing right now is that shiftiness on display here:

 

[Gallagbi]

Giving up goals on the PP is basically a freak occurrence. Something that happens less than once a month isn't a big enough sample size to be meaningful.

No player is a must keep and if a player wants too much money then it might be time to move on from the. That's true for Rielly but it's also true for every player so not news really.

Those SH stats represent PK time for the Leafs, not short handed goals allowed

What's fascinating about it is that brodie actually has the easier job on the pairing - without an elite puckmover like rielly beside him, brodie would be in a much tougher situation and depended on much more to be the puckmover himself.

Thanks to rielly carrying the pairing's puck movement, brodie can limit himself to what he does well, and keep himself in good defensive position always.

I'd disagree with most of this. Rielly's skills is jumping into the rush. He's looked extremely timid retrieving pucks under pressure and he really isn't fighting to recover ever, he's containing, which forces Brodie into a lot of more challenging defensive situations.

'Mo seems a little lost right now and I'd say Brodie is doing more of the challenging work.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I'd disagree with most of this. Rielly's skills is jumping into the rush. He's looked extremely timid retrieving pucks under pressure and he really isn't fighting to recover ever, he's containing, which forces Brodie into a lot of more challenging defensive situations.

'Mo seems a little lost right now and I'd say Brodie is doing more of the challenging work.

Agreed, his poor pinches have been frequent enough this season for it to only take about 15-20 games to determine that Brodie is unbelievable at playing two-on-ones.

 

[zeke]

Logic is fine, but there is one major problem: Rielly’s best statistical seasons have been with Brodie and Hainsey as his most common partner and in most metrics, both have outperformed him on the same team when they are away from him

Rielly does not carry anyone, he is the one who gets carried

Although it is a very small sample, the Leafs are better offensively when Brodie and Muzzin are together 5v5

Do I think Brodie is a better skater and puck mover than Rielly? NO

Do I think Brodie is a more effective puck mover (keeps it simple) than Rielly? YES

Except that every sentence here is wrong.

Yes, Brodie is having the best statistical season of his career with Rielly at 56.8xgf%, far surpassing anything he did with Giordano. Brodie has had the luxury of playing with elite puckmovers like gio and rielly in his career - and his years where he was forced to be the puckmover when paired with guys like Hamonic it was disastrous.

And yes, Rielly is also having the best statistical year of his career, now that for the first time in his career he has a legitimate top pair dman to play with, instead of barely top 4 guys like hainsey and the corpse of phaneuf, or #6 guys like ceci and zaitsev. This is no surprise - brodie is a much better dman than those other scrubs rielly had been forced to carry.

Rielly is an elite of elite puckmover, both in skating the puck and passing the puck, both out of danger and into the attack. That also happens to be the most valuable and the most difficult skill a dman can have.

As for your tiny muzzin-brodie sample....muzzin-rielly has even better xgf and xga than that pairing does, in a sliggtly bigger sample. Not that any of those samples matter of course.

 

[klmdg]

Except that every sentence here is wrong.

Yes, Brodie is having the best statistical season of his career with Rielly at 56.8xgf%, far surpassing anything he did with Giordano. Brodie has had the luxury of playing with elite puckmovers like gio and rielly in his career - and his years where he was forced to be the puckmover when paired with guys like Hamonic it was disastrous.

And yes, Rielly is also having the best statistical year of his career, now that for the first time in his career he has a legitimate top pair dman to play with, instead of barely top 4 guys like hainsey and the corpse of phaneuf, or #6 guys like ceci and zaitsev. This is no surprise - brodie is a much better dman than those other scrubs rielly had been forced to carry.

Rielly is an elite of elite puckmover, both in skating the puck and passing the puck, both out of danger and into the attack. That also happens to be the most valuable and the most difficult skill a dman can have.

As for your tiny muzzin-brodie sample....muzzin-rielly has even better xgf and xga than that pairing does, in a sliggtly bigger sample. Not that any of those samples matter of course.

Everything I said is wrong even though the concrete 5v5 stats say they are right:

GF% Brodie is better 65.44 – 62.82

SF% Brodie is better 51.96 – 51.43

GF/60 Brodie is better 3.26 – 3.14

GA/60 Brodie is better 1.72 – 1.86

You bring up expected numbers but those are subjective coulda-shoulda stats and on this team, Brodie’s real stats get better away from Rielly

Brodie is also playing with the best forward core he’s ever played with

I’m of the opinion a D’s most important quality is being able to actually defend when called upon

It’s pretty clear we are light years better with Brodie than the puck moving machine Tyson Barrie

Anyways, I love your opinions 95% of the time, but I think you are having lunch on the moon when it comes to your beliefs on Mo

 

[zeke]

Everything I said is wrong even though the concrete 5v5 stats say they are right:

GF% Brodie is better 65.44 – 62.82

SF% Brodie is better 51.96 – 51.43

GF/60 Brodie is better 3.26 – 3.14

GA/60 Brodie is better 1.72 – 1.86

You bring up expected numbers but those are subjective coulda-shoulda stats and on this team, Brodie’s real stats get better away from Rielly

Brodie is also playing with the best forward core he’s ever played with

I’m of the opinion a D’s most important quality is being able to actually defend when called upon

It’s pretty clear we are light years better with Brodie than the puck moving machine Tyson Barrie

Anyways, I love your opinions 95% of the time, but I think you are having lunch on the moon when it comes to your beliefs on Mo

1. Like said before, yes Brodie has slightly better numbers in significantly fewer minutes.

2. Expected numbers are no more coulda woulda than the others.

3. Nothing you said here rebuts my last post.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Everyone see’s Morgan Rielly has regressed. I hope for our sake he shapes up his beast mode cone playoffs. I know he can. Just hope he does. His career with the Leafs is under the microscope in this playoff coming. A couple players on this team will be under the same watchful eyes of management. Don’t believe me if you don’t want to. Thats just my thinking anyways

 

[klmdg]

Elite PK from 44

1) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released

2) Turn and throw useless crosscheck to non-threat

3) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released