Player Discussion Morgan Rielly

[Maple Leaf]

Why do people lie and gaslight so much when it comes to discussing this player? It's like none of his detractors can discuss him without constantly telling lies lol.

Just a few takes I've seen on the last couple of pages alone:

• Rielly is a PP merchant, and that's why his production is as good as it's been (Rielly has been one of the top 5v5 producing d-men for a while now and our PP has sucked of late)
• Rielly was bad last season and has been bad for multiple seasons now (Rielly has produced at a 55-60 pt pace or better since 2018, and last season paced for 65 pts, was a +7 and was 15th amongst all NHL D in 5v5 pts and 4th in 5v5 GF/60)
• Rielly sucks at the PP (Rielly is in the top 10 for power play Pts/60 amongst D-men the last 5 years)
• Rielly hasn't been good since the Tampa series (Rielly was literally our best player against Florida, he led the team in points and +/-, and him and Schenn were our only positive +/- d-men)
• Rielly was horrible against the Bruins (While this was not his best series and he did not produce as much, he was still on the ice for 6 out of Toronto's 12 measly goals for, and going into game 7 he had only been on the ice for 3 goals against, unfortunately he was terrible in game 7 but he otherwise had a very steady series and controlled the ice when he played)

I will concede that Rielly isn't the strongest defensively, and from D-men who have played at least 1000+ minutes at 5v5 the last three seasons, he's within the bottom quartile for xGA/60, but he's also in the top 15% for xGF/60, so you take the good with the bad. Plus, he generally tightens up defensively in the playoffs. Again, this season he is not doing well and producing below his usual level, but let's not rewrite history and tell lies to try and manipulate people into believing that he has been some junk d-man who fluked his way into putting up points or try to make him look worse.

That's cool hope he is trading though

 

[NJG]

Right now he’s 51st in the league in PPG for defenseman and he has the 6th worst +- . If he’s playing like this they’ll have to eat some of his AAV. Other teams won’t want an aging defenseman who can’t defend and isn’t that good offensively.

Or you have to attach something else to make the team take the full salary. It doesn’t just work one way, the moral of the story is if they really wanted, they could dump his whole salary.

And no one wanting him because of his play right now is not that big of a factor, teams take chances on guys all the time who aren’t playing well, thinking a change of scenery etc. will help them. Look at Montreal with Laine.

 

[Aashir]

That's cool hope he is trading though

This is not as big a of “gotcha” moment as you think…

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

Why do people lie and gaslight so much when it comes to discussing this player? It's like none of his detractors can discuss him without constantly telling lies lol.

Just a few takes I've seen on the last couple of pages alone:

• Rielly is a PP merchant, and that's why his production is as good as it's been (Rielly has been one of the top 5v5 producing d-men for a while now and our PP has sucked of late)
• Rielly was bad last season and has been bad for multiple seasons now (Rielly has produced at a 55-60 pt pace or better since 2018, and last season paced for 65 pts, was a +7 and was 15th amongst all NHL D in 5v5 pts and 4th in 5v5 GF/60)
• Rielly sucks at the PP (Rielly is in the top 10 for power play Pts/60 amongst D-men the last 5 years)
• Rielly hasn't been good since the Tampa series (Rielly was literally our best player against Florida, he led the team in points and +/-, and him and Schenn were our only positive +/- d-men)
• Rielly was horrible against the Bruins (While this was not his best series and he did not produce as much, he was still on the ice for 6 out of Toronto's 12 measly goals for, and going into game 7 he had only been on the ice for 3 goals against, unfortunately he was terrible in game 7 but he otherwise had a very steady series and controlled the ice when he played)

I will concede that Rielly isn't the strongest defensively, and from D-men who have played at least 1000+ minutes at 5v5 the last three seasons, he's within the bottom quartile for xGA/60, but he's also in the top 15% for xGF/60, so you take the good with the bad. Plus, he generally tightens up defensively in the playoffs. Again, this season he is not doing well and producing below his usual level, but let's not rewrite history and tell lies to try and manipulate people into believing that he has been some junk d-man who fluked his way into putting up points or try to make him look worse.

Dayummm. Thank you, that was a lot of work you put in there - and definitely adds some much needed context to some of the hot takery going on.
That said, though - you kinda came around to the same outlook that most have of Morgan in your final paragraph, as well. Not that great defensively, and the eye test kinda confirms that too.
I know he's had moments of flipping that switch for the playoffs and that Tampa year definitely comes to mind - we just all need him to somehow reclaim some of that for this year. Hoping he and Coach can shake out all of these cobwebs in his head this year, in time for the big dance!

 

[Ports]

Over the last three years Rielly is 5th among all defensemen points per game in the playoffs (>7gp). Only Makar, Bouchard, Fox, and Hedman are above him.

He's a +13, which is higher than each of them by a good margin.

24min a night.

Your cup aspirations include parking this asset on the third line and deploying a shutdown top pairing unit with OEL leading the second pair?

Tanev is the perfect partner for Rielly, they should have been together from the beginning of the season until the end. They have both, at their peaks, been by far our best playoff defenseman and phenomenal league wide. That's what Berube needs to get out of them for our best chance at a cup.


That was regrettable. We need that to not happen this year.

Berube tried Tanev with Rielly to start the season and didn't like what he saw. No way Rielly can play top pair minutes against a team like the Panthers who will eat him alive. What Rielly did several years ago has nothing to with the player he is today. That’s not the way pro sports work. I would love to see Rielly man up defensively but after 12 years in the league it would be foolish to expect him to change no matter who the coach is.

 

[Ports]

Over the last three years Rielly is 5th among all defensemen points per game in the playoffs (>7gp). Only Makar, Bouchard, Fox, and Hedman are above him.

He's a +13, which is higher than each of them by a good margin.

24min a night.

Your cup aspirations include parking this asset on the third line and deploying a shutdown top pairing unit with OEL leading the second pair?

Tanev is the perfect partner for Rielly, they should have been together from the beginning of the season until the end. They have both, at their peaks, been by far our best playoff defenseman and phenomenal league wide. That's what Berube needs to get out of them for our best chance at a cup.


That was regrettable. We need that to not happen this year.

Berube tried Tanev with Rielly to start the season and

Why do people lie and gaslight so much when it comes to discussing this player? It's like none of his detractors can discuss him without constantly telling lies lol.

Just a few takes I've seen on the last couple of pages alone:

• Rielly is a PP merchant, and that's why his production is as good as it's been (Rielly has been one of the top 5v5 producing d-men for a while now and our PP has sucked of late)
• Rielly was bad last season and has been bad for multiple seasons now (Rielly has produced at a 55-60 pt pace or better since 2018, and last season paced for 65 pts, was a +7 and was 15th amongst all NHL D in 5v5 pts and 4th in 5v5 GF/60)
• Rielly sucks at the PP (Rielly is in the top 10 for power play Pts/60 amongst D-men the last 5 years)
• Rielly hasn't been good since the Tampa series (Rielly was literally our best player against Florida, he led the team in points and +/-, and him and Schenn were our only positive +/- d-men)
• Rielly was horrible against the Bruins (While this was not his best series and he did not produce as much, he was still on the ice for 6 out of Toronto's 12 measly goals for, and going into game 7 he had only been on the ice for 3 goals against, unfortunately he was terrible in game 7 but he otherwise had a very steady series and controlled the ice when he played)

I will concede that Rielly isn't the strongest defensively, and from D-men who have played at least 1000+ minutes at 5v5 the last three seasons, he's within the bottom quartile for xGA/60, but he's also in the top 15% for xGF/60, so you take the good with the bad. Plus, he generally tightens up defensively in the playoffs. Again, this season he is not doing well and producing below his usual level, but let's not rewrite history and tell lies to try and manipulate people into believing that he has been some junk d-man who fluked his way into putting up points or try to make him look worse.

Nobody needs to be convinced of anything. Just watch how poor he is without the puck especially his bad pinches and how soft he is in front of his own net that is if he even bothers to go there. Half the time he’s wondering around in the dzone like he’s a forward. His offense which has fallen off a cliff this season doesn’t make up for his terrible defensive play. This year what’s even worse is that he looks disinterested, disengaged or whatever you want to call it. If he gets beat at the blue line he doesn’t even hustle to get back into the play. I think more honesty is needed in evaluating where his game is at right now. Paying a player to be a top pairing defensemen then crossing their fingers and hoping he comes around in the playoffs is not a sound approach to building a cup contender.

 

[Blanche Blanche]

Berube tried Tanev with Rielly to start the season and didn't like what he saw. No way Rielly can play top pair minutes against a team like the Panthers who will eat him alive. What Rielly did several years ago has nothing to with the player he is today. That’s not the way pro sports work. I would love to see Rielly man up defensively but after 12 years in the league it would be foolish to expect him to change no matter who the coach is.

Agreed.

The canary in the coal mine was if we can get Schenn-like D, instead of many of Dubas era weaklings
(ugh BARRIE), Rielly would be the Dman Leafs have been wanting ever since. He would be in the upper echelon immediately along with the Berube system of D first.

We got Tanev, OEL, Mccabe.
Minor additions of heavy Benoit, Myers.
More responsible heavier players - So Rielly can soar like the bird he is. Right??

Wrong.

Turns out Rielly is a liability.

As a result? Our best Dman - Mccabe, has to sacrifice to play on his offside. Or else Rielly will probably be dragging down someone else who cant adjust like Mccabe.

For 7 Million we are absolutely getting shafted here.

Weird thinking he is the only Dman of the listed above who CANNOT take the body and break a play up when intensity ramps up.

 

[Ports]

Or you have to attach something else to make the team take the full salary. It doesn’t just work one way, the moral of the story is if they really wanted, they could dump his whole salary.

And no one wanting him because of his play right now is not that big of a factor, teams take chances on guys all the time who aren’t playing well, thinking a change of scenery etc. will help them. Look at Montreal with Laine.

I hope you’re right but have my doubts. Too many things have to happen for it to work including him waiving his NMC. A buyout is much easier and saves them $21M on the cap over the next five seasons and they don’t have to attach any players to sweeten a deal or get his agreement to waive.

 

[Ports]

Agreed.

The canary in the coal mine was if we can get Schenn-like D, instead of many of Dubas era weaklings
(ugh BARRIE), Rielly would be the Dman Leafs have been wanting ever since. He would be in the upper echelon immediately along with the Berube system of D first.

We got Tanev, OEL, Mccabe.
Minor additions of heavy Benoit, Myers.
More responsible heavier players - So Rielly can soar like the bird he is. Right??

Wrong.

Turns out Rielly is a liability.

As a result? Our best Dman - Mccabe, has to sacrifice to play on his offside. Or else Rielly will probably be dragging down someone else who cant adjust like Mccabe.

For 7 Million we are absolutely getting shafted here.

Weird thinking he is the only Dman of the listed above who CANNOT take the body and break a play up when intensity ramps up.

It’s completely inexplicable how he got paid what he did at the time. Dubas was a dreamer about building a Shinny team that could win a cup. Now that they have a few players back there who know how to defend and are physical it exposes him even more. They’re weaker on the right side unfortunately so bumping him down the lineup won’t happen via the trade route. If he’s not playing on the PP which plays better without him then he shouldn’t play more than 16-18 minutes a night or go up against any top lines. He’s best suited to a few shifts a game with McCabe when there’s an opportunity to exploit a matchup where he can use his offense to get the puck to the top line in the neutral zone and join the rush. No way they should have to babysit him by breaking up one of the best shutdown pairs in the league in Tanev-McCabe.

 

[Maple Leaf]

This is not as big a of “gotcha” moment as you think…

Didn't work out for the first 8 times let's run it back

 

[arso40]

It’s completely inexplicable how he got paid what he did at the time. Dubas was a dreamer about building a Shinny team that could win a cup. Now that they have a few players back there who know how to defend and are physical it exposes him even more. They’re weaker on the right side unfortunately so bumping him down the lineup won’t happen via the trade route. If he’s not playing on the PP which plays better without him then he shouldn’t play more than 16-18 minutes a night or go up against any top lines. He’s best suited to a few shifts a game with McCabe when there’s an opportunity to exploit a matchup where he can use his offense to get the puck to the top line in the neutral zone and join the rush. No way they should have to babysit him by breaking up one of the best shutdown pairs in the league in Tanev-McCabe.

The guy resigned him cause the market was bad but Damn kinda wish we didn’t resign him and remade the baccend

 

[WTFMAN99]

Defense 101...he skipped it or something.

 

[Leafsfan74]

It’s completely inexplicable how he got paid what he did at the time. Dubas was a dreamer about building a Shinny team that could win a cup. Now that they have a few players back there who know how to defend and are physical it exposes him even more. They’re weaker on the right side unfortunately so bumping him down the lineup won’t happen via the trade route. If he’s not playing on the PP which plays better without him then he shouldn’t play more than 16-18 minutes a night or go up against any top lines. He’s best suited to a few shifts a game with McCabe when there’s an opportunity to exploit a matchup where he can use his offense to get the puck to the top line in the neutral zone and join the rush. No way they should have to babysit him by breaking up one of the best shutdown pairs in the league in Tanev-McCabe.

I can stand on the soapbox that I made a big thread and a case for signing Petrioangelo that season to avoid this overpay. No disrespect to Reilly, but once he was a veteran D man it was clear he would never be a #1 due to his defensive deficiencies. A potential #3 perhaps, I don't know.

He is a likeable guy, but this is a franchise starving for a Cup.

 

[Stephen]

Agreed.

The canary in the coal mine was if we can get Schenn-like D, instead of many of Dubas era weaklings
(ugh BARRIE), Rielly would be the Dman Leafs have been wanting ever since. He would be in the upper echelon immediately along with the Berube system of D first.

We got Tanev, OEL, Mccabe.
Minor additions of heavy Benoit, Myers.
More responsible heavier players - So Rielly can soar like the bird he is. Right??

Wrong.

Turns out Rielly is a liability.

As a result? Our best Dman - Mccabe, has to sacrifice to play on his offside. Or else Rielly will probably be dragging down someone else who cant adjust like Mccabe.

For 7 Million we are absolutely getting shafted here.

Weird thinking he is the only Dman of the listed above who CANNOT take the body and break a play up when intensity ramps up.

He looks like he's got some kind of brain fog out there. Can't grasp any level of defensive detail or assignment, brings zero offense. Doesn't look like there's anything physically wrong other than maybe some lazy skating tendencies.

 

[Ports]

He looks like he's got some kind of brain fog out there. Can't grasp any level of defensive detail or assignment, brings zero offense. Doesn't look like there's anything physically wrong other than maybe some lazy skating tendencies.

On the second goal he had zero effort or urgency to get over to try and force the winger wide or deflect the shot and on the third goal he was stumbling around and looking around at his feet. He looks completely lost out there and incapable of defending. Time to let him watch a few games or send him somewhere to get his act together.

 

[Mr_Fun]

Maybe Tessa is wearing him out and I don’t mean between the bed sheets. I wonder if the home load and possible lack of sleep with a new kid just has him drained? TBF, he’d been not all that bad the last couple of games and the goaltending tonight was pretty spotty, but it really looked like a struggle tonight for him in both ends.

 

[ACC1224]

Maybe Tessa is wearing him out and I don’t mean between the bed sheets. I wonder if the home load and possible lack of sleep with a new kid just has him drained? TBF, he’d been not all that bad the last couple of games and the goaltending tonight was pretty spotty, but it really looked like a struggle tonight for him in both ends.

I would think a wife who was also an athlete would make sure he gets whatever rest he needs to perform.

 

[NJG]

I hope you’re right but have my doubts. Too many things have to happen for it to work including him waiving his NMC. A buyout is much easier and saves them $21M on the cap over the next five seasons and they don’t have to attach any players to sweeten a deal or get his agreement to waive.

Yeah I hope they trade him just to get rid of the full contract but I won't be disappointed if they waive him. Whatever it's going to take to get him off this team I'm all for.

 

[Ports]

Maybe Tessa is wearing him out and I don’t mean between the bed sheets. I wonder if the home load and possible lack of sleep with a new kid just has him drained? TBF, he’d been not all that bad the last couple of games and the goaltending tonight was pretty spotty, but it really looked like a struggle tonight for him in both ends.

I’ve read comments about the new kid but plenty of hockey players wives have kids during the season and they still come to play. I can count on one hand the number of games where Riely didn’t look disinterested and lazy. If he was a Marlie they would send him back down.

 

[NJG]

Maybe Tessa is wearing him out and I don’t mean between the bed sheets. I wonder if the home load and possible lack of sleep with a new kid just has him drained? TBF, he’d been not all that bad the last couple of games and the goaltending tonight was pretty spotty, but it really looked like a struggle tonight for him in both ends.

He's been bad before the baby came.

 

[Blanche Blanche]

On the second goal he had zero effort or urgency to get over to try and force the winger wide or deflect the shot and on the third goal he was stumbling around and looking around at his feet. He looks completely lost out there and incapable of defending. Time to let him watch a few games or send him somewhere to get his act together.

Probably personal issues if not an undisclosed injury or ailment. Right?

Maybe family issues? Marital? I hate being all breakfast television and the like but the 2 goals last night were not just plays being in the wrong spot or a wrong read.

It was pure delayed process and then the slowest reaction, like he was stoned and forgot his role.

There’s the players help group. Sit out this season if you’re struggling. Give us the cap space meanwhile.

 

[Stephen]

Probably personal issues if not an undisclosed injury or ailment. Right?

Maybe family issues? Marital? I hate being all breakfast television and the like but the 2 goals last night were not just plays being in the wrong spot or a wrong read.

It was pure delayed process and then the slowest reaction, like he was stoned and forgot his role.

There’s the players help group. Sit out this season if you’re struggling. Give us the cap space meanwhile.

Don’t care to speculate on what the root cause is but the way Rielly plays looks like a distracted player who doesn’t look like he’s paying attention, has something else on his mind. It just comes across as absent minded play, low level of details, drifting in and out of situations with lack of assertiveness. Doesn’t even look like a physical problem.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I'm not a big Rielly fan anymore due to his lack of offense/speed which makes his brutal defensive play stand out even more .. but blaming him for last night is beyond ridiculous .. we had a house league tender in our net for god sakes .. this kid hildebeast .. common man he even looks off balance when standing in da net

 

[AuraSphere]

1 bad season and people eat him out alive. He's been consistently our best playoff performing dman for the past decade. Chill tf out

I'll wait till playoffs before I judge him

 

[yubbers]

1 bad season and people eat him out alive. He's been consistently our best playoff performing dman for the past decade. Chill tf out

I'll wait till playoffs before I judge him

Where we've had no playoff success?

You see the issue now. Lol