Player Discussion Morgan Rielly

[Stephen]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw a hit!
You can’t play D without being somewhat physical IMO.

I also don’t understand how he’s still considered an elite skater when he rarely speed bursts effectively in transition with the puck cleanly, isn’t laterally dynamic whatsoever and is often caught flat footed/foot planted and asleep puck watching.

I do feel bad hammering on a guy who seems like a solid guy in real life but man where are the details at? So many aspects of his game are just in ruins.

 

[djdev]

I think my frustration with Rielly boils down to feeling like he was part of the solution and taking that for granted without more serious examination and critique.

Then you return to the same old year after year and you look at Rielly’s defensive lapses, low compete level, poor details, special teams work and it just adds up to a player who looks complacent on the ice.

i agree about his defensive lapses, but hard to blame the player for alot of this stuff.
morgan riellys best asset are his legs, which are completely neutralized on the PP, his shot isnt good he doesnt make quick enough decisions with the puck. BUT, when he was taken off the top PP unit he never complained, just went about his work.
hes also been put in a position to have to be our "best" defender when clearly he isnt that. the problem is we have no cap to get him a true 1st pairing shutdown guy to play with.

as for the post season, regardless of recent history i can recall a few series at least where he was our best player(and was that in our only series win with this team).

my reasoning for him is solely that we need a real shakeup of our cap allotment and this teams core has too many ghosts in the playoffs and are too accustomed to losing at this point. i really do think hes worth his salary and a very good player when used properly.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw a hit!
You can’t play D without being somewhat physical IMO.

hes been alot more physical for the most part than marner/JT/willy in the post season. you saying you never seen him throw a hit is just flat out disingenuous. hes not a physical player but hes never run from physical play.

 

[67leafs]

i agree about his defensive lapses, but hard to blame the player for alot of this stuff.
morgan riellys best asset are his legs, which are completely neutralized on the PP, his shot isnt good he doesnt make quick enough decisions with the puck. BUT, when he was taken off the top PP unit he never complained, just went about his work.
hes also been put in a position to have to be our "best" defender when clearly he isnt that. the problem is we have no cap to get him a true 1st pairing shutdown guy to play with.

as for the post season, regardless of recent history i can recall a few series at least where he was our best player(and was that in our only series win with this team).

my reasoning for him is solely that we need a real shakeup of our cap allotment and this teams core has too many ghosts in the playoffs and are too accustomed to losing at this point. i really do think hes worth his salary and a very good player when used properly.


hes been alot more physical for the most part than marner/JT/willy in the post season. you saying you never seen him throw a hit is just flat out disingenuous. hes not a physical player but hes never run from physical play.

Those guys are all forwards…..I’m talking about Dmen. Rielly is not built for the playoffs simple as that. He was on for both goals against in game 7…..an is not physical other than open net cross checks!

 

[BM14]

Those guys are all forwards…..I’m talking about Dmen. Rielly is not built for the playoffs simple as that. He was on for both goals against in game 7…..an is not physical other than open net cross checks!

He’s not an intelligent dman and as his body wears down, he’ll be out of position that much more.

 

[Clark4Ever]

The issue with moving Rielly is that we don't have anyone else on the blueline that can move the puck or produce offensively the way he does. I know we have a strong record without him in the lineup, but unless we can acquire another defenceman with a similar skillset, I would keep him for now.

 

[Jojalu]

Those guys are all forwards…..I’m talking about Dmen. Rielly is not built for the playoffs simple as that. He was on for both goals against in game 7…..an is not physical other than open net cross checks!

Rielly has been pretty much lights out in almost every playoff series.

He was on for 5 goals all series despite playing the most minutes

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

Rielly's been a garbage fire in his own end two regular seasons running now. Last year in the playoffs he was great, I'll grant you that. This season he's got nothing to hang his hat on besides 5v5 goal differential, which is basically... he was on the ice when Willy scored. Alright then. He doesn't deserve all of the blame for the PP being awful for 2+ months straight but certainly some of it.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Rielly's been a garbage fire in his own end two regular seasons running now. Last year in the playoffs he was great, I'll grant you that. This season he's got nothing to hang his hat on besides 5v5 goal differential, which is basically... he was on the ice when Willy scored. Alright then. He doesn't deserve all of the blame for the PP being awful for 2+ months straight but certainly some of it.

Mo's the best we have but he's a #2/3 on most NHL teams, let's be honest. He's miscast as a #1, he isn't good enough defensively or offensively, his decision making kills the PP and his lack of a shot essentially telegraphs what we're trying to do.

You'd figure during the offseasons he'd want to perhaps, you know, maybe take a few clappers for fun. Just to see if it's something you can develop into a weapon? Yeah I know, it's a pretty crazy thought.

 

[djdev]

Those guys are all forwards…..I’m talking about Dmen. Rielly is not built for the playoffs simple as that. He was on for both goals against in game 7…..an is not physical other than open net cross checks!

what does the position he plays have to do with anything? you said you have never seen him throw a hit. if you actually watch the leafs thats just a flat out lie.

and no its not as "simple as that". we wouldnt have won our only round in the past 8 years without him, who else can you say that about on this team?
i have my issues with rielly and other players on the leafs for that matter, but their actual flaws are evident enough without people just making up stuff about them.

 

[Niagara Bill]

Reilly is clearly a very good dman, a good team member, quality guy, has great taste in women, and I want him on my team...but not in the number one position.
He is Turnbull not Salming.

 

[TMLegend]

Just a random question, but where does Rielly rank amongst all time Leaf defensemen? He's gotta be top 5, no? He's 3rd in points and 4th in games played at the moment.

 

[djdev]

Just a random question, but where does Rielly rank amongst all time Leaf defensemen? He's gotta be top 5, no? He's 3rd in points and 4th in games played at the moment.

i would have him just out of the top 10 honestly(maybeee sqeaking into the 10 spot)

 

[MarMarSab3]

I never understood what people saw in Reilly, he puts up points but always has been a mediocre defender, never was and never will be a #1 he's a #2 if paired with a true #1 , really hope the team looks to move on

 

[Ports]

Mo's the best we have but he's a #2/3 on most NHL teams, let's be honest. He's miscast as a #1, he isn't good enough defensively or offensively, his decision making kills the PP and his lack of a shot essentially telegraphs what we're trying to do.

You'd figure during the offseasons he'd want to perhaps, you know, maybe take a few clappers for fun. Just to see if it's something you can develop into a weapon? Yeah I know, it's a pretty crazy thought.

If he hasn’t developed one by now ….

 

[Ports]

He was solid until his injury. I’d be pessimistic about most people but Morgan always puts in the work. I bet he comes out and dominates next season.

He’s way down the list of things that need to change for me. If anything he’s our captain.

Clean slate. In 11 seasons, they’ve won 1 playoff round with him. He’s a liability defensively and his $7.5M can be used for a real first pairing dman.

I never understood what people saw in Reilly, he puts up points but always has been a mediocre defender, never was and never will be a #1 he's a #2 if paired with a true #1 , really hope the team looks to move on

In reality, he’s second pairing at best on a cup contender.

 

[RunItBackAgain]

Clean slate. In 11 seasons, they’ve won 1 playoff round with him. He’s a liability defensively and his $7.5M can be used for a real first pairing dman.


In reality, he’s second pairing at best on a cup contender.

I stand by everything I said. Mo is a gamer not the issue. Maybe we can get another first pairing d to ease the load. This playoffs our cap on D was 14 million. 6.5M or less for the 5 spots after Mo. That is an issue

 

[Ports]

Reilly is clearly a very good dman, a good team member, quality guy, has great taste in women, and I want him on my team...but not in the number one position.
He is Turnbull not Salming.

Turnbull was twice the defenseman that Rielly is. He just partied too hard.

 

[Superstar]

Noticed all these one-timer slapshots from dmen scoring these playoffs?

I guess Rielly hasn't noticed.

 

[67leafs]

Noticed all these one-timer slapshots from dmen scoring these playoffs?

I guess Rielly hasn't noticed.

Rielly.
has absolutely NO shot…….makes keying on him on the PP a moot point. He will always dish it.

No shot and doesn’t hit…… = non effective in the playoffs.

 

[Tak7]

I never understood what people saw in Reilly, he puts up points but always has been a mediocre defender, never was and never will be a #1 he's a #2 if paired with a true #1 , really hope the team looks to move on

That's exactly what people see:

• Someone who can put up points
• Someone who can be a #2 / 1B if put with the right partner

True #1s are rare. If you thought he was some elite Dman and a legit #1, that's on you, not on Rielly.

He's one of the few players on this team that is actually providing value commensurate to his actual contract.

 

[1specter]

i agree about his defensive lapses, but hard to blame the player for alot of this stuff.
morgan riellys best asset are his legs, which are completely neutralized on the PP, his shot isnt good he doesnt make quick enough decisions with the puck. BUT, when he was taken off the top PP unit he never complained, just went about his work.
hes also been put in a position to have to be our "best" defender when clearly he isnt that. the problem is we have no cap to get him a true 1st pairing shutdown guy to play with.

as for the post season, regardless of recent history i can recall a few series at least where he was our best player(and was that in our only series win with this team).

my reasoning for him is solely that we need a real shakeup of our cap allotment and this teams core has too many ghosts in the playoffs and are too accustomed to losing at this point. i really do think hes worth his salary and a very good player when used properly.


hes been alot more physical for the most part than marner/JT/willy in the post season. you saying you never seen him throw a hit is just flat out disingenuous. hes not a physical player but hes never run from physical play.

Well said. There's a ton of Rielly hate going on right now cause of his poor game 7 performance, but he's often shown up more than the rest of the core, last year he was our best overall player in the playoffs and the only ones who wasn't a total scrub against Florida.

It's also very clear he was playing hurt / compromised. He wasn't moving the same in the playoffs.

 

[Jmo89]

Reilly is clearly a very good dman, a good team member, quality guy, has great taste in women, and I want him on my team...but not in the number one position.
He is Turnbull not Salming.

Yeah, I'd like to see Rielly beside another top pairing dman. A real one.

The defence already has too many holes, I'd prefer they solidify it with Rielly not in place of him.

 

[djdev]

Well said. There's a ton of Rielly hate going on right now cause of his poor game 7 performance, but he's often shown up more than the rest of the core, last year he was our best overall player in the playoffs and the only ones who wasn't a total scrub against Florida.

It's also very clear he was playing hurt / compromised. He wasn't moving the same in the playoffs.

ye people get so in their feelings about players when they under perform, i want changes but i wont just make up random crap about players to suit my argument, as i said these players have sufficient flaws, they dont need people making up new ones for them lol.

as for playing hurt, i dont really see that with him, he wasnt bad defensively this series for the most part, but didnt do much of anything offensively which is what we need him for.

 

[MarMarSab3]

That's exactly what people see:

• Someone who can put up points
• Someone who can be a #2 / 1B if put with the right partner

True #1s are rare. If you thought he was some elite Dman and a legit #1, that's on you, not on Rielly.

He's one of the few players on this team that is actually providing value commensurate to his actual contract.

And that's where I'll disagree, he's overpaid by at least 1 million and in reality on a cup contender is your #2 or 3.

 

[Martin Skoula]

If he hasn’t developed one by now ….

To be fair Hyman figured out how to lift the puck at 30, miracles do happen sometimes