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Morgan Rielly

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LeafsNation75 said:
Whenever fans of other teams bash Leafs players we can't take them seriously and this is an example of that.

On May 13, 2019 I posted this poll question on the National Hockey League Talk Forums and asked between Nazem Kadri and Tom Wilson who would you rather have on your team? Wilson got 229 votes at 65.1%, Kadri got 103 at 29.3%, and I wouldn't want either one got 20 votes at 5.7%.

Nazem Kadri or Tom Wilson, which player would want if you had to choose? | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League (mandatory.com)

A few months later on July 3, 2019 someone else posted the exact same question and this was two days later after Kadri was traded to Colorado for Tyson Barrie. However this time the results were a lot different. Kadri got 172 votes at 62.5%, Wilson got 95 votes at 34.9% and I don't want either one got 7 votes at 2.5%.

Nazem Kadri Vs. Tom Wilson | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League (mandatory.com)

So in the 51 days between those polls the only thing that changed was the team who Kadri played for and that's one example of the hate our players get on here from those fans when playing in Toronto.
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Ya, the bashing happens on all forums, for instance Brayden Schenn was hated in Philly but he'd probably be welcomed enthusiastically by any other team/team's fans in the NHL. Players are under the microscope by the fans of who they play for and all fans figure the grass is always greener.
 
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LeafsNation75 said:
Here is an example of that when Auston Matthews scored his first career playoff goal against Washington in Game 3, because Morgan Rielly got the only assist.

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Yea that's how it should be. Even though Rielly wanted/offered to do it, it kinda pissed me off Barrie getting the #1 PP spot last year. At least this year that spot will belong to the only one who deserves it.
 
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Atomos2 said:
Yea that's how it should be. Even though Rielly wanted/offered to do it, it kinda pissed me off Barrie getting the #1 PP spot last year. At least this year that spot will belong to the only one who deserves it.
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I agree that Rielly should have remained on the 1st power play line. However at least it shows he's a good teammate and a class act to do something like that.
 
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LeafsNation75 said:
Does anyone agree or disagree with Morgan Rielly projected to get 48 points next season?

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It appears to be a touch generous. I imagine he could at least break 40 though. (maybe up to 45?)

I wasn't thrilled about Barrie replacing Rielly on PP1 last season either. In fairness, it was a move that was going to happen anyway once Rielly went down to that injury.
 
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Buds17 said:
It appears to be a touch generous. I imagine he could at least break 40 though. (maybe up to 45?)

I wasn't thrilled about Barrie replacing Rielly on PP1 last season either. In fairness, it was a move that was going to happen anyway once Rielly went down to that injury.
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Besides the times Barrie was on the 1st power play line in the regular season when Rielly was hurt and not playing, I can not remember if Keefe kept the power play lines like that when Rielly returned for that one game on March 10th against Tampa Bay right before the regular season got suspended and during their qualifying series against Columbus.
 
LeafsNation75 said:
Does anyone agree or disagree with Morgan Rielly projected to get 48 points next season?

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I was hard on Rielly early in the season but when it came out he had been playing through some injuries, even before he went down with the fracture, it made more sense.

As long as he stays healthy, no reason why he cant reach those numbers with the firepower he's surrounded by.
 
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LeafsNation75 said:
Besides the times Barrie was on the 1st power play line in the regular season when Rielly was hurt and not playing, I can not remember if Keefe kept the power play lines like that when Rielly returned for that one game on March 10th against Tampa Bay right before the regular season got suspended and during their qualifying series against Columbus.
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I honestly can't remember either. Realistically though, PP1 was going to be problematic on a team with Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Rielly and Barrie. Six players and five spots was going to be tough for someone.
 
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There’s no reason Morgan shouldn’t win the Norris this year. Should get at least 60 points.
 
Buds17 said:
I honestly can't remember either. Realistically though, PP1 was going to be problematic on a team with Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Rielly and Barrie. Six players and five spots was going to be tough for someone.
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This is easy to say with hindsight but I wonder why Babcock or Keefe didn't try the normal power play setup with 3 Forwards and 2 Defenseman? At least that way we could have seen both Rielly and Barrie together on the PP1.
 
LeafsNation75 said:
This is easy to say with hindsight but I wonder why Babcock or Keefe didn't try the normal power play setup with 3 Forwards and 2 Defenseman? At least that way we could have seen both Rielly and Barrie together on the PP1.
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The problem then becomes which forward has to be dropped in order to accommodate having both Rielly and Barrie on PP1? I think all of Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander and Rielly at their best are better options offensively than Barrie. Therefore, Barrie would have been my choice to drop to PP2. Beyond that, I could see the argument for balancing two units.
 
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LeafsNation75 said:
Does anyone agree or disagree with Morgan Rielly projected to get 48 points next season?

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Feels high to me, 48 points in a 56 game season is the equivalent of 70 in a normal season. Rielly HAS hit 72, but so much went right that year, I wouldn’t bet on him repeating. Last year he scored at a 47 point pace (per 82), though that was a bad season for him, and Barrie was taking some of his prime offensive minutes/responsibilities.

I’ll predict he scores at a 60 point pace this year, so ~41 points if he plays all 56 games. That’d be his 2nd best pace ever.
 
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ponder said:
Side note, but I do miss Naz and Leo quite a bit. Those dudes were so fiesty.
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Maybe the team needed to support Naz more.. but his inconsistency was frustrating. He also was a loose cannon. Dead horse.. but he was suspended in consecutive leaf playoffs, was great for Colorado but from what I read he made costly mistakes in their elimination game.
 
ponder said:
Feels high to me, 48 points in a 56 game season is the equivalent of 70 in a normal season. Rielly HAS hit 72, but so much went right that year, I wouldn’t bet on him repeating. Last year he scored at a 47 point pace (per 82), though that was a bad season for him, and Barrie was taking some of his prime offensive minutes/responsibilities.

I’ll predict he scores at a 60 point pace this year, so ~41 points if he plays all 56 games. That’d be his 2nd best pace ever.
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Note that this will be the first time Rielly has full access to a regular minutes top PP unit (i.e. 3+mpg) in his career.
 
zeke said:
Note that this will be the first time Rielly has full access to a regular minutes top PP unit (i.e. 3+mpg) in his career.
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He lead all Leafs in PP TOI/G in 2018/19 (well, tied for the lead with Tavares), so that’s not really true, he had very consistent PP1 minutes that year. It wasn’t 3+ mpg, but the Leafs didn’t/don’t draw a tonne of penalties, and that was back in the Babs days when PP2 got more burn. For the last 3 seasons of Babs, nobody ever averaged 3+ PP TOI/G.

I do think Rielly will hit a career high in PP TOI/G this year though. Keefe plays PP1 more, and there’s no Barrie or Gards for Rielly to compete with for mins (though if Sandin and/or Lehtonen make the team, they could be competition as the season goes on).

I think a 70+ point pace for Rielly is possible, but a lot would have to go right, so I’d expect more like a 60 point pace.
 
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ponder said:
He lead all Leafs in PP TOI/G in 2018/19 (well, tied for the lead with Tavares), so that’s not really true, he had very consistent PP1 minutes that year. It wasn’t 3+ mpg, but the Leafs didn’t/don’t draw a tonne of penalties, and that was back in the Babs days when PP2 got more burn. For the last 3 seasons of Babs, nobody ever averaged 3+ PP TOI/G.

I do think Rielly will hit a career high in PP TOI/G this year though. Keefe plays PP1 more, and there’s no Barrie or Gards for Rielly to compete with for mins (though if Sandin and/or Lehtonen make the team, they could be competition as the season goes on).

I think a 70+ point pace for Rielly is possible, but a lot would have to go right, so I’d expect more like a 60 point pace.
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After Keefe took over, finally the top unit starting getting 3+ minutes consistently.

Except unfortunately for Rielly he was on the 2nd unit because he's such a nice guy.
 
zeke said:
After Keefe took over, finally the top unit starting getting 3+ minutes consistently.

Except unfortunately for Rielly he was on the 2nd unit because he's such a nice guy.
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Agree that it was a relief when Keefe started actually playing our top unit a lot - fixing one of the many things Babs did that made no sense.

Don’t agree that Barrie getting plenty of PP1 time was just Rielly being nice, though. Rielly is a great puck handler and passer, but his point shot sucks, barely has a slapper at all, mostly just takes writers from the point. Marner, the other PP1 point man, doesn’t have much of a slapper either, so we’re left with zero threats from the point, which really lets PKs collapse around the net, as they don’t have to cover the point too seriously. It takes away an important PP element, Keefe often went with Barrie on PP1 because he has a legit point shot.

I think we’ll continue to see Rielly swapped out for someone with a good point shot when the PP goes through cold streaks. There’s no more Barrie, but guys like Lehtonen, Sandin and Muzzin could be used. Rielly won’t be a real PP1 lock unless he can develop a strong point shot, he’ll always be a bit in-and-out of the top PP without one.
 
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ponder said:
Agree that it was a relief when Keefe started actually playing our top unit a lot - fixing one of the many things Babs did that made no sense.

Don’t agree that Barrie getting plenty of PP1 time was just Rielly being nice, though. Rielly is a great puck handler and passer, but his point shot sucks, barely has a slapper at all, mostly just takes writers from the point. Marner, the other PP1 point man, doesn’t have much of a slapper either, so we’re left with zero threats from the point, which really lets PKs collapse around the net, as they don’t have to cover the point too seriously. It takes away an important PP element, Keefe often went with Barrie on PP1 because he has a legit point shot.

I think we’ll continue to see Rielly swapped out for someone with a good point shot when the PP goes through cold streaks. There’s no more Barrie, but guys like Lehtonen, Sandin and Muzzin could be used. Rielly won’t be a real PP1 lock unless he can develop a strong point shot, he’ll always be a bit in-and-out of the top PP without one.
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I would say you are exaggerating issues with Rielly's shot. He doesn't have a bomb or clapper or anything but he does have a good wristshot that he gets through to the net with very good regularity. With the other weapons we have that's enough, and it was 2 years ago. Rielly will be the guy exclusively, if healthy, on the top unit
 
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Sypher04 said:
I would say you are exaggerating issues with Rielly's shot. He doesn't have a bomb or clapper or anything but he does have a good wristshot that he gets through to the net with very good regularity. With the other weapons we have that's enough, and it was 2 years ago. Rielly will be the guy exclusively, if healthy, on the top unit
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Here are three examples of some goals Rielly has scored during his career with Toronto and I can't see anything wrong with his shot, especially when he can use a one-timer.





 
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Curious what happens to him if this flat cap remains. Starting next season we aren’t even likely to be able to bring back the players we currently have.. Andersen will be hard to retain next year and in two years Rielly impossible without a serious cap/team restructuring. I know a lot of people are hoping some rookie ELC will help but I mean it’s going to be difficult to juggle regardless
 
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