What is Morgan Rielly

[Puckstuff]

When he's good he looks dominant. I've seen it. Looks like a #1. When he's bad he's putting him self in bad positions and just looks bad.

For me he's not a #1.

He's a really good puck mover, he's really good at outlet passing. He has elite speed on the rush. He is elite in transition. He is average on the power play. He doesn't have a point shot. Makes questionable plays on the P.P at times. He isn't good at defending 2 on 1's. But he's good offensively. He isn't as bad defensively as someone like Gardiner or Barrie, for sure. There is definitely value but it's hard to rate him.

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[Hoglund4MvP]

You'll see who Rielly is when he's flying down the ice with puck all playoffs.

Just need to squeak by round 1. Round 2 and on is where team like ours dominate if healthy. Round 1 all teams are capable of squeezing it out even non playoff teams thats why we need to stop being so soft


Mark my word if we get out of Round 1, Reilly is going to be skating circles with the puck from the dzone out

 

[ToneDog]

You'll see who Rielly is when he's flying down the ice with puck all playoffs.

Just need to squeak by round 1. Round 2 and on is where team like ours dominate if healthy. Round 1 all teams are capable of squeezing it out even non playoff teams thats why we need to stop being so soft


Mark my word if we get out of Round 1, Reilly is going to be skating circles with the puck from the dzone out

How many games do you think the Bruins allow him to do that ??

 

[justashadowof]

That's a lot of choices and none capture exactly what I was thinking. He's heading towards being an average-ish 2nd pairing defender in the upcoming years.

So many difficult decisions have been necessary to make during the past several seasons. We allowed legit NHLers to walk in the off-season. Most decisions were correct. Even Hyman who is flourishing in Edmonton would have been on the expensive side to retain. Hindsight will probably show that the Rielly extension was a mistake. And not a mistake as in he isn't a serviceable NHLer. A mistake in that his role with the team is somewhat replaceable. The team still keeps rolling when he's out of the lineup (the team was something like 12-2-1 without Rielly in November and December).

 

[DarkKnight]

More importantly though, why is Morgan Reilly?

 

[Puckstuff]

I think he's like a #3 offensive defesnmen. He just doesn't have the elite high end skill on the PP or the defensive attributes to even call him a #1 or #2.

 

[robertmac43]

Seems to be where the poll is going. Elite #2, below average #1. Tough to judge him at points this year since he has been clearly carrying that injury.

 

[Dekes For Days]

These market values are quite wonky.

Rielly is a very good defenseman making a very reasonable amount on a UFA contract.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Right now,I think he's an average #2 dman. The only thing elite about him is his skating, when he isn't recovering from an injury. He's got a very good first pass but defensively he's average to below average in some things. He gets his points, but that's because he plays alot of minutes and the power play. What he does on the PP isn't abvoe average. From the point in the middle, he'll pass to the left wing, then to the right wing. Doesn't have a very hard shot, nor does he use his shot to find a deflection. Sandin, Liljgren, Giordano and even Timmins can offer the same thing.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Tough to say since he varies so much game by game and even shift by shift. His offensive and transition abilities are right at the top of the league, his defense is right at the bottom. Overall he's a net positive in a difficult role. I think he's a top pairing level guy, but not an overly good one

 

[Notsince67]

Right now he is a defenseman who just came off a great game against Minn.

 

[Buds17]

The third or fourth option in the poll. He's a #1-top pairing D that isn't on the path to a HOF induction once retired.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Every team in the league has a number 1 defenseman, obviously some teams can improve on the #1. Rielly is definitely a number 1, but not a Karlsson, Dahlin, Makar, etc.

 

[LeafSteel]

I’m just here for the biggest and longest and most plentiful Polling options I’ve ever seen in my life……

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Where's the "he's a forward" option?

 

[keonsbitterness]

He's a CIA agent working undercover.

 

[Clark4Ever]

He's never had the defensive acumen to be considered a legitimate number 1 defenceman.

He's an elite number 2 defenceman in my opinion.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Too many "elite" options in this poll.

What happened to the good old days when Defensemen were labelled "PMD" or in Kaberle's case "PPMD" (Premiere Puck Moving Defenseman).

Also what happened to "Hybrid Defenseman" (Gunnarsson)?

Rielly is a leading puck moving defenseman with a hybrid style.

 

[Morgs]

Low end #1/high end #2.

Just because he's awful defensively doesn't make him not a great player. His offense has always been better than his defense is bad, and to put it simply, offense is inherently more valuable- especially when its this level for a defenseman. Not to mention he's very strong in transition and brings other qualities that make him effective at everything besides defense.

 

[Pebble live]

He needs to stop being a rover and losing assignments. That's it. There is enough forward and offensive talent on this team. He's clearly very average at reading the plays and trying to determine when to jump in and when not to.

He just needs to quiet down his game.

 

[Morgs]

Every team in the league has a number 1 defenseman, obviously some teams can improve on the #1. Rielly is definitely a number 1, but not a Karlsson, Dahlin, Makar, etc.

Disagree. Just because someone plays #1 minutes doesn't mean they're a #1. There's guys like Tyler Myers who play top-pair minutes and most people (including myself) don't think he'd be our #7.

By definition there's 32 #1 defenseman in the league, and teams can have multiple like Colorado (Makar, Toews), Vegas (Theodore, Pietrangelo), etc. It's about the impact in the minutes they have. Liljegren has borderline #1 numbers but he also plays #4/5 minutes and is more sheltered than the aforementioned players.

 

[darrylsittler27]

You can't call Reilly a number one on most teams. His offense outshines his defense and he needs Brodie. He is a luxury many teams can't afford. The problem is no one will trade you a number one for Reilly. He is well paid and as such unmovable really.

 

[Bomber0104]

I don't think people understand how difficult it is to be an all-situations, minute-munching top defenceman on an NHL team.

Down year for sure on the offensive side of things, he's never been that strong defensively.

Wasn't even really his calling card to begin with.

 

[Stephen]

I don't think people understand how difficult it is to be an all-situations, minute-munching top defenceman on an NHL team.

Down year for sure on the offensive side of things, he's never been that strong defensively.

Wasn't even really his calling card to begin with.

No one cares how difficult it is. You're either qualified and fit for the job as an all-situation workhorse D, or you're not.

 

[Bomber0104]

No one cares how difficult it is. You're either qualified and fit for the job as an all-situation workhorse D, or you're not.

A mis-cast is a mis-cast at the end of the day. Not sure why people are upset at the player for it.

As it stands, he's the closest we have or will come to it for the foreseeable future with no prospects or even high picks available for us to use.

Or are you thinking we should be trying out Lilly in that role, because that's literally the only option I see that may present itself in the next year-plus.