Player Discussion Morgan Rielly

[Mess]

He looks like a number 3 defenseman who doesn't belong on the special teams, isn't strong defensively and not physical, and about to get stripped of more offensive responsibilities and privileges. That's quite a workaround on a 6 man unit. He's gotta go.

Agreed.

That is why players like McCabe, Simon Benoit, Joel Edmundson & Ilya Lyubushkin excelled in the playoffs and why Rielly and Liljegren struggled and a why TJ Brodie sat in the pressbox.

So its no surprise hear his name along with Liljegren and Brodie all on the shopping trade bait list on players expected to be moved on from if possible this summer and change coming,

He is a #3 Dman sheltered from PK and limited on the PP and certainly not asked to be on a shutdown pairing either 5v5 hockey, and his non physical play can only be sheltered so much when the opposition dictates how to deploy him to avoid the least amout on damage defensively.

 

[Sypher04]

When you watch the lateral dynamism of a PPQB in Quinn Hughes, Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Brandon Montour, Gustav Forsling, Devon Toews, even Samuel Girard, those guys are very deceptive in foot work and can create little gaps from the point, lose coverage for a second, get a shot on net. With Rielly, it just looks like when he isn't on a tunnel vision rush he's not improvisational and looks like he's on a set of tracks with slow plodding puck moving tendencies. It looks like he has his head in the clouds or is thinking way too hard while making the same predictable plays.

he looks like a number 3 defenseman who doesn't belong on the special teams, isn't strong defensively and not physical, and about to get stripped of more offensive responsibilities and privileges. That's quite a workaround on a 6 man unit. He's gotta go.

Montour is in no way comparable to most of these other names.

 

[Stephen]

Montour is in no way comparable to most of these other names.

Montour seems to be a guy a lot of fans are getting their backs up over... I'm not saying that's your clear cut Rielly replacement and the money question will be a factor, but his strengths and career trajectory is kind of the opposite of Rielly right now. Does everything at an explosive rate, generating from the back end, physical and nasty to compete against, high octane. Maybe not our guy but he's bringing a lot of nice things from the point.

 

[sunstersun]

We have a fine D corp if we just keep Edmonson, Mccabe, Benoit, Lilly and Lyubushkin and add Montour.

Rielly should go. He's gonna decline fast.

Lilly can handle PP2 duties. Give him a real shot. He's inconsistent. Struggles with injuries.

We wanna win? We need to be Vegas ruthless. Right now we get an asset for Rielly. In two years we pay someone to take him.

 

[Sypher04]

Montour seems to be a guy a lot of fans are getting their backs up over... I'm not saying that's your clear cut Rielly replacement and the money question will be a factor, but his strengths and career trajectory is kind of the opposite of Rielly right now. Does everything at an explosive rate, generating from the back end, physical and nasty to compete against, high octane. Maybe not our guy but he's bringing a lot of nice things from the point.

I’m actually fully on board with getting Montour. I’m just saying Montour isn’t in the same tier as the other guys you listed.

And I don’t think moving Rielly really makes sense. It’s going to be hard enough to get multiple defensemen to overhaul the backend of the lineup without moving out our best piece there on top of the rest of the work that needs to happen.

 

[PromisedLand]

Congratulations Mo!

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795522893545378205

So Mo is married already? I thought he was just engaged. Good for you Mo!

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795482107189584246

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795538089756045685

 

[Enniskillen]

Happy for his family, but would be glad to see him play for some other team. No heart in last playoffs, slow and inefficient.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

We really need to stop moaning and whining about these guys - Varhaege in particular took SIX YEARS and multiple franchises before he even began to look like a full time NHLer, let alone an impact player he is today.

Did you ever watch Marchment with the Marlies? He was a part time AHLer.

And how much better were the smurfs that Dubas got in return for them? And where are they now??

 

[Gabriel426]

Congrats to Mo and Tessa

 

[Tak7]

And how much better were the smurfs that Dubas got in return for them? And where are they now??

That's irrelevant - there's no indication the players the Leafs moved, were going to become what they are today.

You can't scream for an organization to not be risk averse when it comes to making brave moves like moving Marner / blowing up the core, but then hammer that same organization for trying to make lateral bets on guys that aren't showing signs of anything.

 

[rumman]

Congratulations Mo, hope your open to moving closer to your future child’s grandparents, Seattle’s pretty close…….

 

[Trapper]

Congratulations Mo, hope your open to moving closer to your future child’s grandparents, Seattle’s pretty close…….

It would be mean to send him alone. Have Marner keep him company.

 

[mclaren55]

So everyone that wants Mo gone is really banking on Montour coming here? Of all the dumb takes I see on this board, the ones calling for Mo to be moved are among the top. Someone really called this guy a #3? Jesus.

 

[Nineteen67]

Congratulations Mo!

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795522893545378205

So Mo is married already? I thought he was just engaged. Good for you Mo!

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795482107189584246

https://x.com/i/web/status/1795538089756045685

Congrats, but why post a picture in your underwear?

So everyone that wants Mo gone is really banking on Montour coming here? Of all the dumb takes I see on this board, the ones calling for Mo to be moved are among the top. Someone really called this guy a #3? Jesus.

He may have to go because they have no other tradable assets

 

[rumman]

It would be mean to send him alone. Have Marner keep him company.

I like your thinking, Uncle Mitch would help with the move for sure…….

 

[mclaren55]

Just so everyone knows, since 2020, in 20 more playoff games played, Montour has scored 1 more point than the guy you are all trying to fire into the sun. Mo also has a +16 vs. Montour at 0. You are all so quick to shit on our best playoff performer of the last 3 seasons, because what, he only got 3A's in 7 vs Boston? Look at the rest of our lineup. Mo isn't the problem here guys, the fact that we have him playing with bums is the problem.

 

[Stephen]

So everyone that wants Mo gone is really banking on Montour coming here? Of all the dumb takes I see on this board, the ones calling for Mo to be moved are among the top. Someone really called this guy a #3? Jesus.

Rielly is surfing on reputation at this point. There are frankly more holes to his game than strengths at this point when you add it all up.

 

[WTFMAN99]

So everyone that wants Mo gone is really banking on Montour coming here? Of all the dumb takes I see on this board, the ones calling for Mo to be moved are among the top. Someone really called this guy a #3? Jesus.

Rielly is surfing on reputation at this point. There are frankly more holes to his game than strengths at this point when you add it all up.

Stephen pretty much covered it.

Not blazing fast, not a real point shot threat, poor defensively, can't PK and PP outside of the TBL series with him in the playoffs has been poor.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Rielly is surfing on reputation at this point. There are frankly more holes to his game than strengths at this point when you add it all up.

That’s how I felt when he signed.

His error which could have been stopped by Samsonov ended the season.

 

[leafsfan2point0]

He’s definitely getting underrated in this thread big time. Congrats to him and Tessa.

 

[mclaren55]

Rielly is surfing on reputation at this point. There are frankly more holes to his game than strengths at this point when you add it all up.

Reputation? He just got 58 points in 72 games this year. He has 40 points in 57 playoff games. Not to mention being a career + in the playoffs. Yet according to some on here he has all these holes in his game and should be fired into the sun.

You get rid of Mo, and there will be a lot of regression for the team.

 

[Stephen]

Reputation? He just got 58 points in 72 games this year. He has 40 points in 57 playoff games. Not to mention being a career + in the playoffs. Yet according to some on here he has all these holes in his game and should be fired into the sun.

You get rid of Mo, and there will be a lot of regression for the team.

Agree to disagree. Team doesn’t miss him at all when he’s not in the lineup and the defensive structure looks a lot cleaner. Short term sample and obviously we would need another offensive defenseman in his place but pretty sure a lot of guys feeding the forward group would get their cookies. I’m not looking for a Cookie Monster on D.

 

[rumman]

Agree to disagree. Team doesn’t miss him at all when he’s not in the lineup and the defensive structure looks a lot cleaner. Short term sample and obviously we would need another offensive defenseman in his place but pretty sure a lot of guys feeding the forward group would get their cookies. I’m not looking for a Cookie Monster on D.

THIS. Many bemoan the Leafs can’t exit the zone eithout Rielly’s ability, but they always do fine when he’s injured or sitting because he did something stupid and got suspended……..

 

[Stephen]

THIS. Many bemoan the Leafs can’t exit the zone eithout Rielly’s ability, but they always do fine when he’s injured or sitting because he did something stupid and got suspended……..

The worst part is his suspension was arguably his season highlight. Showed a heart and soul moment and sent the team on a hot streak… without him.

 

[Kurtz]

Rielly is surfing on reputation at this point. There are frankly more holes to his game than strengths at this point when you add it all up.

Reputation? Yes, a richly earned one. The guy was our best player in the playoffs just last year.

If anything, some folks are underrating the fact that he's on the ice for 24 competent minutes/game.

His only weakness is special teams.

Agree to disagree. Team doesn’t miss him at all when he’s not in the lineup and the defensive structure looks a lot cleaner. Short term sample and obviously we would need another offensive defenseman in his place but pretty sure a lot of guys feeding the forward group would get their cookies. I’m not looking for a Cookie Monster on D.

We also have a great record without Matthews, should we punt him to the moon as well?