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What do we do when Rielly comes back? (Assuming everyone stays healthy)

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StevenB said:
There seems to be a lot of discussion about this in various threads but no dedicated thread for this yet.

Which dman do we sit when Rielly comes back? Sure you could give Gio some rest and keep his legs fresh for the postseason but that’s not a long term solution. I don’t see either Sandin or Lily sitting; they’ve really stepped up since Rielly and Brodie were injured and are a legitimate pairing that can eat big minutes. Do you rotate Holl and Timmins even though they’ve also been really solid for us?

I think we can all recognize this as a good problem to have but a problem nonetheless. Thoughts?
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This is not a problem in the slightest because getting a good player back is never a problem
 
Timmins doesn't deserve to sit but unfortunately he probably will in favour of Holl. At the same time I can't say Holl deserves to sit either as he's played huge minutes in Rielly and Brodie's absence and has performed extremely well doing so. Good problem to have really... Someone will inevitably get injured again, sadly.
 
Tlo1 said:
We’re obviously better without him and it’s not even a small sample size. Unbeaten in what 15 games? He’s the last of the old guard when we had Lupul, Kadri, Kessel, Bozak, etc. I always said we’re not winning anything with Reilly as our #1 Dman and this winning streak with him out of the line up proves it. He logs to many minutes, D is an after thought to him and he sets the tone as the leader to the rest of our D core. It’s no wonder our Defensive play has looked the best they have in years without him. Anyway to answer your question a player that may fit the description is Horvat? Not sure if it’s doable but that JT,Marner and Horvat would be rediculous.
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Reilly has been the Leafs best dman in the playoffs and it hasn't been close.

What he hasn't had is every forward on the twam buy into playing a full 200 foot game,, which happened when Muzzin, Brodie and he went out, as well as having their 3rd string goalie in net.

He has the most skill by far and when he comes back and buys in to the same style of play the Leafs become that much better
 
Tlo1 said:
We’re obviously better without him and it’s not even a small sample size. Unbeaten in what 15 games? He’s the last of the old guard when we had Lupul, Kadri, Kessel, Bozak, etc. I always said we’re not winning anything with Reilly as our #1 Dman and this winning streak with him out of the line up proves it. He logs to many minutes, D is an after thought to him and he sets the tone as the leader to the rest of our D core. It’s no wonder our Defensive play has looked the best they have in years without him. Anyway to answer your question a player that may fit the description is Horvat? Not sure if it’s doable but that JT,Marner and Horvat would be rediculous.
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So you are suggesting they trade Morgan for a rental?

Here is an idea how about don't do that.

That's a better plan.
 
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LEAFANFORLIFE23 said:
So you are suggesting they trade Morgan for a rental?

Here is an idea how about don't do that.

That's a better plan.
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My suggestion was to trade for a top six forward. I mentioned Horvat if it was doable but probably isn’t without creating cap space.
 
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Jojalu said:
Reilly has been the Leafs best dman in the playoffs and it hasn't been close.

What he hasn't had is every forward on the twam buy into playing a full 200 foot game,, which happened when Muzzin, Brodie and he went out, as well as having their 3rd string goalie in net.

He has the most skill by far and when he comes back and buys in to the same style of play the Leafs become that much better
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And what happens if he doesn’t buy in to the new style of play? What then?

Stephen said:
It's pretty wild how much better the transition flows and the PP moves without Rielly...
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Sandins puck distribution and quick decision making is far superior to Reilly’s. Having good hockey IQ makes a world of difference.
 
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Tlo1 said:
And what happens if he doesn’t buy in to the new style of play? What then?
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I am not even worried about that. He wants to win and clear the aura of playoff failure over this team.

It also is very rare that a player signs an extension for lower than he would have got on the market then immediately be traded.
 
Jojalu said:
I am not even worried about that. He wants to win and clear the aura of playoff failure over this team.

It also is very rare that a player signs an extension for lower than he would have got on the market then immediately be traded.
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Reilly just wants to score goals and win the Norris cause he thinks he’s Bobby Orr. He took that contract cause no one offered better.
 
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I was ready to fire Holl into the Andromeda galaxy after 10 games but he's bounced back remarkably... I'd be fine with him paired with Gio in a depth role long term but I'd prioritize getting Timmins reps given his age and potential. I think with this D core you need to spread the minutes a lot more evenly than we have in the past; Gio needs more rest than he's getting once we get reinforcements, and there's no world where Sandin and Liljegren should be playing 14 minutes a night anymore.

Rielly-Brodie: ~22 min
Sandin-Liljegren: ~20 min
Gio-Holl/Timmins: ~18 min
 
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they ill probably intercharge gio and timmins out for a while.

gio needs recharge his batteries, we need him fresh
 
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Anyone who actually cares about defensive impact of defencemen shouldn’t at all be surprised that the Leafs improved defensively when Rielly got hurt. He is bad defensively. He always has been. Not Tyson Barrie level of bad, but he’s not good.
 
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Tlo1 said:
And what happens if he doesn’t buy in to the new style of play? What then?


Sandins puck distribution and quick decision making is far superior to Reilly’s. Having good hockey IQ makes a world of difference.
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Yeah I think Rielly is just guilty of panic rushing the puck and forcing it to certain spots at times. The flow is noticeably smoother these days without the play running through him. Not voting the man off the island but at least we know what we have with other guys in the transition role.
 
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Jojalu said:
He took it before he ever reached free agency.

You seriously can't believe anything you just said is true. Surely you must have watched the Tampa series last year when he was a force at both ends??
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Sorry but there was nothing good that came out of that series or any of the other first round exits since 2004
 
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genk said:
Anyone who actually cares about defensive impact of defencemen shouldn’t at all be surprised that the Leafs improved defensively when Rielly got hurt. He is bad defensively. He always has been. Not Tyson Barrie level of bad, but he’s not good.
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How many times Reilly’s untimely pinches or joining the rush results in odd man rushes. Notice how they’re almost non existent since he left? You can always count on at least 2-3 when he’s playing. He’s a great skater no doubt but he’s dumb as an ox and prioritizes offence over defence. Defence is like a chore to him it seems.
 
While the negatives about Rielly posted in this thread are true, his net effect on the game are positive anyway. He does make us a better team. I just hope that he's watching, and buys into this defensive system and game, and is a little more tidy when he returns.

The team will be as follows once he's back, and he's worked his way back into games. He might not get top minutes at first, and eased back into the lineup, which is just fine.

Rielly Lijegren
Gio Holl
Sandin Brodie

I'm not ranking these as 1-3, at this point, they should just roll with lines.

Timmins is quickly becoming my #7, Benn #8

And congrats to Timmins, for showing he can be a useful everyday NHL player. I hope that his ascendancy continues. If it does, perhaps we get some flexibility next year, as Holl moves on.
 
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How many times Reilly’s untimely pinches or joining the rush results in odd man rushes. Notice how they’re almost non existent since he left? You can always count on at least 2-3 when he’s playing. He’s a great skater no doubt but he’s dumb as an ox and prioritizes offence over defence. Defence is like a chore to him it seems.
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His poor coverage against Nick Paul literally cost the Leafs game 7 against TB.
 
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genk said:
His poor coverage against Nick Paul literally cost the Leafs game 7 against TB.
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Rielly-Brodie
Gio-Lilly
Sandin-Timmins

Lilly looked fantastic with Gio and Sandin/Timmins have history from the Soo. Trade Holl and use his 2 mil to put toward a top six LW.
 
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I honestly thought I would never say this... but he is not missed..... the team is firing on all cylinders and playing incredible hockey, why screw with something that is working.... trade him
 
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