Morgan Rielly
- Thread starter Stephen
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Then trade his sorry ass cause it's the second year in a row that he's looked like he doesn't give a shit. Perhaps he does, and never being good defensively, he's now cooked that his speed is gone. Guys have tough years, but he's been brutal.
Dudes done. Nobody with a brain is taking that. It's a buyout.
If he still has any value whatsoever around the league, they better trade him this off-season, it would be utterly neglegent not to. Otherwise, it's going to be a buyout or a Marleau-type situation with retained salary and throwing in some assets from an already bare cupboard.
morgan rielly's fall off is the only one that stings me
out of all of them, he's the only one who truly elevated his play in the playoffs in the past. The contract at the time of signing was a good deal with almost no nonsense coming out during the negotiations, with guys like nurse, werenski (check his stats pre-2021), hamilton getting 9.5 I was more than happy to have him at 7.5. Just on the ice it feels like he would give 100% even in losing efforts, couldn't say the same about the core 4. He'd hit guys, he would score big goals, he would step his play up to average defence in the playoffs.
marner could miss 100 and is being run out of town, nylander has returned to ppg, matthews is completely broken, but i don't feel bad for any of them, i do however feel bad for rielly and how his tenure might end
out of all of them, he's the only one who truly elevated his play in the playoffs in the past. The contract at the time of signing was a good deal with almost no nonsense coming out during the negotiations, with guys like nurse, werenski (check his stats pre-2021), hamilton getting 9.5 I was more than happy to have him at 7.5. Just on the ice it feels like he would give 100% even in losing efforts, couldn't say the same about the core 4. He'd hit guys, he would score big goals, he would step his play up to average defence in the playoffs.
marner could miss 100 and is being run out of town, nylander has returned to ppg, matthews is completely broken, but i don't feel bad for any of them, i do however feel bad for rielly and how his tenure might end
Why feel bad. This level of dropoff is on him. It's as though he found his wife and hockey isn't important anymore. Simple as that.
so you're saying a Pittsburgh trade is possible
For me it’s like the biggest shame that he of all of them is declining like this
I wouldn’t really care if the core 4 fell off individually to like 60-75 point players and I’d probably shit on them, but Rielly is a guy who even right now I don’t like hating on. The hate is warranted don’t get me wrong he’s been horrendous this season, but I hate how out of all of our guys it’s him who is having this rough season.
I don’t really know how to describe it otherwise, it’s probs cuz I’m biased towards him more than Marner Matthews nylander and Tavares, maybe it’s cuz I find him more likeable as a player and through his interviews.
Morgan’s a nice person and it comes through when talking about real human beings so I get where you’re coming from. But his dedication to his craft is not there and in the framework of this sport it doesn’t come off well. It’s a focus problem and a fitness problem. That’s in his control.
As a leader that’s a poor decision on his part no matter the reason he’s been here the longest he sets the standard your out of shape and disinterested it’s sad
Part of why I think this core is screwed is because it's getting more and more apparent that Rielly is washed and we aren't going to see that elite smooth-skating offensive defenseman again. Maybe he'll adjust to the new kid and have a bounce back next year, or even better show up this postseason if we make it.
His defensive game was never great but it's only more glaring with his diminished skating. It's not entirely clear what he does anymore. He's not quarterbacking the PP, he doesn't play on the PK, his assists rate has plummeted, he doesn't clear the front of the net, and he can't defend off the rush. You don't want him defending the lead at the end of the game and they just recently tried OEL as the defenseman when we pull the goalie for 6 on 5 to try and tie the game late, so even that role is in jeopardy.
For Mo to be even close to worth his contract he has to put up 50 points at least. That he's on pace for 41 over 82 games is inexcusable. It's bad enough we're constantly trying to find him a partner that will finally make it click when at $7.5 million a season he should be the one elevating other defensemen. The man is so coddled in this market because he's been drafted and developed, showed leadership qualities, been a good interview, and been one of the only core members to elevate his play in the playoffs. But that's not good enough when he's making what he's making and it's looking like his playoff prowess is fading.
Hopefully as time goes on he and Carlo (who's actually performed well in his short time here so far) develop chemistry to mitigate Morgan's litany of shortcomings. If he can't make it work with Carlo then he should be sheltered on the third pair with Myers and the franchise should look to move him in the off-season, along with letting Mitch and JT walk.
His defensive game was never great but it's only more glaring with his diminished skating. It's not entirely clear what he does anymore. He's not quarterbacking the PP, he doesn't play on the PK, his assists rate has plummeted, he doesn't clear the front of the net, and he can't defend off the rush. You don't want him defending the lead at the end of the game and they just recently tried OEL as the defenseman when we pull the goalie for 6 on 5 to try and tie the game late, so even that role is in jeopardy.
For Mo to be even close to worth his contract he has to put up 50 points at least. That he's on pace for 41 over 82 games is inexcusable. It's bad enough we're constantly trying to find him a partner that will finally make it click when at $7.5 million a season he should be the one elevating other defensemen. The man is so coddled in this market because he's been drafted and developed, showed leadership qualities, been a good interview, and been one of the only core members to elevate his play in the playoffs. But that's not good enough when he's making what he's making and it's looking like his playoff prowess is fading.
Hopefully as time goes on he and Carlo (who's actually performed well in his short time here so far) develop chemistry to mitigate Morgan's litany of shortcomings. If he can't make it work with Carlo then he should be sheltered on the third pair with Myers and the franchise should look to move him in the off-season, along with letting Mitch and JT walk.
Couple years ago he got less than 50 points, but then became our best player in the playoffs and finally propelled us to round 2.
7.5M is not the price you pay for a #1 defenceman to elevate a budget parter on a contender. He's not Hedman who can do exactly that. He needs an equal. Sending him to the playoffs with 667k newguy Boosh, means Rielly is doing the babysitting - I think people get confused because of the on ice roles that each plays in the pairing.
I agree that with the additions of OEL, Tanev, and Carlo, on top of McCabe, if he sinks the season and bombs the playoffs there is a path now to moving on from Rielly with sound judgment - we're shooting from the hip now anyway.
I cannot figure out how much he second guesses himself. It's not like he was a habitual poor decision maker, I always saw him as having above average hockeyQ, knowing when and where to move the puck coming out of his own zone, and where the puck should go when handling it on the opponents blueline, too often it looks like he has a hand grenade, not knowing what to do withe it.
Physically it appears he's lost a half step, his stamina seems to be good, he can get up and down the rink all right and will still engage with the forechecker but rarely in front of the net. I can't see any appearence of a nagging injury that would be holding him back from playing the way he used to.
It's kind of like he has suddenly developed a fear of making any errors, when he does make one, its like he withdraws which leads to this hesitantcy and second guessing.
Hopefully he snaps out of it really soon, they need the real Mo, not this guy who's wearing 44 atm.
Maybe cutting a bit of his ice time, not a lot just 2 or 3 minutes at the most
Physically it appears he's lost a half step, his stamina seems to be good, he can get up and down the rink all right and will still engage with the forechecker but rarely in front of the net. I can't see any appearence of a nagging injury that would be holding him back from playing the way he used to.
It's kind of like he has suddenly developed a fear of making any errors, when he does make one, its like he withdraws which leads to this hesitantcy and second guessing.
Hopefully he snaps out of it really soon, they need the real Mo, not this guy who's wearing 44 atm.
Maybe cutting a bit of his ice time, not a lot just 2 or 3 minutes at the most
You saw wrong he was never a high iq player and he always was a defensive liability your right about the second guessing though and I guess once he’s not as fast to cover himself on bacc checcs or to get up into the rush he’s pretty much what you see now
He’s had a tough season alright, and it’s troubling in the big picture given his contract.
He seems to always be a half step late, and even though he has a sturdy build, it doesn’t appear to help him win many physical battles.
I wonder if a different conditioning approach might help; Lose a bit of the bulk and try to get more lean and mean going forward.
Hopefully he figures it out in the playoffs, he has done that before which gives me some hope..
He seems to always be a half step late, and even though he has a sturdy build, it doesn’t appear to help him win many physical battles.
I wonder if a different conditioning approach might help; Lose a bit of the bulk and try to get more lean and mean going forward.
Hopefully he figures it out in the playoffs, he has done that before which gives me some hope..
Think we all know why Benoit is getting playing time. He is a heart and soul guy. Berube loves him. But straight up Myers has more upside. And will fit better with Reilly for the playoffs. My pairings would be:
McCabe - Tanev
OEL Carlo
Reilly Myers
McCabe - Tanev
OEL Carlo
Reilly Myers
He used to be able to skate his way out of tight spots but that isn't easy for him anymore. The same burst isn't there.
Of course, when that happens you make more mistakes as almost everything is rushed or mishandled.
Of course, when that happens you make more mistakes as almost everything is rushed or mishandled.
This is a really tough one as Rielly is a leader .. BUT his speed is done (2 steps) and his hands were never good and his defense is beyond brutal .. he should only play in playoffs if we get tampa .. otherwise he is a healthy scratch and a summer buyout .. no one is trading for him now .. he is washed
I don’t even think it was that good a run. In his 11 years with the team they won one round.
Nobody’s paying that guy $7.5M for another five years. Forget the return. How much will the Leafs have to eat on his contract?
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