The Morgan Rielly Conundrum

[BertCorbeau]

IMO a best case scenario might be that the Leafs are able to move Rielly for futures prior to the expansion draft, so that they can keep all of Muzzin/Brodie/Holl/Dermott and have assets to restock the cupboards. Therefore exposing Kerfoot.

Opens up over $8 mill in cap space to re-sign Hyman and fit in a top 6 winger upgrade. Re-sign Bogo and next year roll with:

Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-Brodie
Sandin/Lehtonen-Bogo
Liljegren

 

[TopCheese]

We need to keep him. His play is not at the level it was 2 years ago but for 5 million dollars this year and next he is still great value for his contract. I am not a huge Reilly fan but trading him would be a mistake. We have to hope that he will sign for something like 5.5mil x 6. He is a guy I could realistically see taking a hometown discount.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

IMO a best case scenario might be that the Leafs are able to move Rielly for futures prior to the expansion draft, so that they can keep all of Muzzin/Brodie/Holl/Dermott and have assets to restock the cupboards. Therefore exposing Kerfoot.

Opens up over $8 mill in cap space to re-sign Hyman and fit in a top 6 winger upgrade. Re-sign Bogo and next year roll with:

Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-Brodie
Sandin/Lehtonen-Bogo
Liljegren

Holl's emergence changes everything and gives so many more options. This lineup looks extremely viable and I like your logic re. the expansion draft. That said, I have an awful feeling if we unload Rielly, a year from now everyone will be asking where we can find a d-man like...Rielly.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Their 10 year is done. There will be a bidding process

Bettman has been saying same for so so so many years now like 25+ (although he used to say it all da time now hardly ever) ... I can't wait to see this FLUSH national US TV cable deal ... I will believe it when I see it

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Holl's emergence changes everything and gives so many more options. This lineup looks extremely viable and I like your logic re. the expansion draft. That said, I have an awful feeling if we unload Rielly, a year from now everyone will be asking where we can find a d-man like...Rielly.

Best bet is to keep everyone and maintain a strong defense which can withstand injuries but it will require a deal with Seattle which given 2021 draft i have zero issues with doing ... it is perfect year for expansion in worst draft year ever

 

[Madic]

This is how Rielly skated 6 years ago:



His legs look better this year than last, but he's had to transition his game to rely less on skating. Not sure what that does to his longevity but food for thought.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

I'd keep him at 7 on the dot. I don't particularly like him, I hate the "hardest working heart and soul, plays the right way" fanfiction hfboards writes about him, it's the first time I've ever heard this kind of stuff attributed to a defensemen who's quite bad defensively. That said he is one of the best ofds so I'd keep him if I could.

 

[RogerR]

He's a Leaf so we'll hear non-stop he wants out soon and outrageous money and Leafs are screwed..

 

[BertCorbeau]

Holl's emergence changes everything and gives so many more options. This lineup looks extremely viable and I like your logic re. the expansion draft. That said, I have an awful feeling if we unload Rielly, a year from now everyone will be asking where we can find a d-man like...Rielly.

100% .. Part of the idea is that Sandin or Lehtonen can help fill that void of a PMD who can be on the PP but that's far from a guarantee

 

[RogerR]

Bettman has been saying same for so so so many years now like 25+ (although he used to say it all da time now hardly ever) ... I can't wait to see this FLUSH national US TV cable deal ... I will believe it when I see it

I don;t think anyone is sayiong it'll be some crazy deal. But it will go up significantly. Enough to bump the cap up. It'll still be far, far worse than any ot the other major sports tv deals.

 

[zeke]

He's a Leaf so we'll hear non-stop he wants out soon and outrageous money and Leafs are screwed..

CAP HELL!!!!

 

[SnizzNasty88]

If I was Dubas I’d trade this guy immediately after the season is done. He’s not a #1 dman and isn’t good defensively. He moves the puck well but that’s about it. His slap shot is absolutely pathetic as well. I can take a better clapper than him. Dubas should look to move him at a $5M cap hit he could be attractive to a lot of teams with a defenseman that would much better suit our needs. A guy I’d love is Colton Parayko, maybe we trade Rielly and another asset to land him. That is something I could definitely get behind.

 

[Captain14]

"Our defense is finally good, so let's trade our best defenseman!" -HF boards

Statistically I am pretty sure that Holl is our best defenseman, in fact he is statistically one of the best in the NHL.

 

[Dekes For Days]

It's really too early to make decisions like this. Nothing would happen until next offseason at the absolute earliest, and then it really depends what Rielly is looking for.

 

[zeke]

This is how Rielly skated 6 years ago:



His legs look better this year than last, but he's had to transition his game to rely less on skating. Not sure what that does to his longevity but food for thought.

I saw him do this a couple times last game.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Statistically I am pretty sure that Holl is our best defenseman, in fact he is statistically one of the best in the NHL.

Yeah let's maybe let him do it for more than 15 games first...

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Yeah let's maybe let him do it for more than 15 games first...

How about a whole season more like it ... I am not a huge Holl fanboy but I have to agree his development has been truly extraordinary da past year ... but like I always say I never ever ever sell or trade a younger dman with nhl skills ... they are too hard to find and NO ONE knows how they will develop not even da best hockey minds can figure it out ... best to keep them with you until you know they can't play ... I like our current direction and hope we can keep ALL our guys in house now and figure out something with Seattle ... it is TOO D*MN HARD TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE ARE NOW ... like 1993 hard ... and I have been there all da way ... teams win with DEFENSE ... i know you younger guys don't believe me but GOALERS AND DMEN ARE GOLD ... centres are important and wingers are your eye candy (nice to have a couple hot ones on your arm)

 

[Notsince67]

Bettman has been saying same for so so so many years now like 25+ (although he used to say it all da time now hardly ever) ... I can't wait to see this FLUSH national US TV cable deal ... I will believe it when I see it

The only television I watch is live sports. Everyone is free streaming everything else but live sports isnt reall that easy or good. I suspect it's relative value has grown tremendously in the last 5 years. It wont be an NFL like deal but it is likely it will be multiple values of where it is.

 

[notbias]

IMO a best case scenario might be that the Leafs are able to move Rielly for futures prior to the expansion draft, so that they can keep all of Muzzin/Brodie/Holl/Dermott and have assets to restock the cupboards. Therefore exposing Kerfoot.

Opens up over $8 mill in cap space to re-sign Hyman and fit in a top 6 winger upgrade. Re-sign Bogo and next year roll with:

Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-Brodie
Sandin/Lehtonen-Bogo
Liljegren

Hyman can be re-signed with the cap of Andersen, or he can get a raise from Simmond's cap.
I don't think Hyman is commanding 5 mil+, if he is, let him walk.
Where are we fitting another top 6 winger in? The kids need to play eventually too.

If we re-sign Hyman

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
X - Tavares - Nylander
Mikheyev - Kerfoot - X
X - X - X

Now find room for some of these guys (some are ready now, some might be by next year):
Engvall, Robertson, Brooks, Petan, Kroshkov, Anderson, Malgin, SDA, Amirov, Abramov, Hallander, Holmberg, Abruzzese.

This assumes that Spezza, Simmonds, Thornton, Boyd all walk.

I'd rather we don't move Rielly, we try to re-sign him for a similar salary (if he wants too much we have to let him walk).

Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Sandin - Liljegren


Protect 4/4
Matthews/Marner/Tavares/Nylander - Rielly/Brodie/Muzzin/Holl
Let them take Engvall/Dermott/Kerfoot.

 

[Madic]

I saw him do this a couple times last game.

Agree to disagree, bc he flat out doesn't use his crossovers like that anymore, much less break the puck out himself. Probably having reconstructed knees and not being 20 anymore. If you mean he still has the ability to laterally move...yes.

 

[zeke]

Yeah let's maybe let him do it for more than 15 games first...

he's been pretty great ever since Keefe took over. and numbers wise you could certainly make the case that he's been the best one.

Granted, he hasn't received the big and tough minutes that Rielly always has until very recently, so we'll see what his numbers look like going forward.

 

[Rielly4]

Muzzin stays at home and is great defensively
Holl is great defensively
Brodie has been great defensively
Rielly is our freewheeler

It's like so many people are stuck in 18-19 and even 19-20 when our defense was still mediocre to bad. We've built a top4 defense that has a fantastic shutdown pairing in Muzzin-Holl and we got a defensive partner to cover for Rielly's free-wheeling. With all of these strong defenders, who all excel in transition, look at who the coach is still leaning on the most: Rielly. Having an elite offensive defenseman is such a big weapon for a team that's built around scoring forwards. It's like the "Leafs are bad defensively" narrative has been beaten into us so hard that anything other than defensive perfection is intolerable. We've built a great top4 that's balanced around a bunch of guys who can defend well and one guy who dominates play whenever he's on the ice. It's a great top4 and Rielly is instrumental to that balance.

I think 7m and under is a great deal, load up the term too. Honestly, I'd trade Nylander for a cheaper player and use the savings on Rielly, that's how important he is to the team. I don't even believe that much in the "build out from the net" philosophy, but this top4 that we've got is just so freaking awesome and Rielly is critical to it and how our team plays.

oh man I agreed with this so much until you mentioned trading Nylander. Just let Andy walk for cap savings.

 

[Aashir]

He’s a defenseman that doesn’t play a poised defensive game. “All about the cap”.

He is panic stricken

I wouldn’t give him a 10% raise.

There are bad takes, and then there is this...

 

[GBLeaf]

I love Morgan Rielly.

For me he represents the transition from bottom dwelling tankers, to a team that can be cup contenders and hopefully, Stanley Cup Champions.

He's a good guy, he plays like he cares and he puts up points too.

Obviously it's down to what $ he wants. But I hope he's a lifer.

 

[Nooodles]

Guys, Rielly is 100% staying. He is probably the best leader in the locker room and the longest serving Leaf. I mean I accidentally run into the 2014 Winter classic highlights on YT yesterday and just saw he was already on the team, I was like wtf?
He's still only 26!!

He has his off games but he's still our best defensmen and a core player, I hope he retires as a Leaf. Pretty sure he will take a hometown discount as well, he's that kinda guy.