When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed defenseman John Klingberg, there were questions in regards to bringing in another puck-moving defenseman when the team already had Morgan Rielly.
Klingberg has seen a gradual decline in production after a 67-point season in 2017-18 with the Dallas Stars. While the offense has dwindled, he does provide some upside, especially on the power play. Klingberg finally gives them a defender who can consistently shoot with power from the blueline. But what does that mean for the longest serving member of the Maple Leafs in Rielly?
Rielly is more of a playmaker and puck distributor as his shot hasn’t been as a great since he scored 20 goals back in 2018-19. His spot on the first powerplay unit could be lost as a result of Klingberg being more of a shooter. While that’s still up in the air, the addition of Klingberg shouldn’t deter Rielly as this could serve as motivation to attempt to keep his spot as the top defenseman on the power play.
Klingberg Has More of Shooter’s Mentality
While Rielly is the main offensive driver for the Maple Leafs on the backend, there were moments where maybe he was carrying the load and it might have been too much for him as the only defender on the backend with offensive upside.
Rielly’s transitional play and ability to be a strong playmaker is evident. Though his decision making to pass up prime shooting opportunities at even strength and more notably on the power play has been something that has come into question in the past. It was something that he was lacking consistently last season as his results were mixed.
Rielly’s 3.2 shooting percentage in 2022-23 was the third worst of his career and way below his career average of 4.7%. While Rielly can get pucks on net, it seemed like there wasn’t enough power and the amount of quality shots weren’t nearly as great to generate high end scoring opportunities from the point. The Maple Leafs needed someone who can get pucks on net and Klingberg has shown to do that as he has more of a shooter’s mentality.
Klingberg had better results offensively when it came to the shots and goals department than Rielly. Last season, Klingberg had 112 shots on goal between the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild, fewer than Rielly’s 126 but had a better S% at 8.9%. He also hit double digits in goal with 10– the first time since 2018-19. Klingberg would’ve also led the Maple Leafs in goals last season as Timothy Liljegren led the team in that department.
Klingberg has his defensive deficiencies as he’s aggressive on both sides of the puck, but he’s always been known as an offensive defenseman who fits in with the Maple Leasfs system. He has a more powerful shot compared to other defenders on the team and has had success in that regard. He was brought in to be another offensive force on the backend, another top-four option and makes the team a shooting threat on the powerplay. He has the patience to find the shooting lane, join the rush and won’t pass up an opportunity if he has it. His underlying numbers improved with the Wild compared to the Ducks and could be what this team needs to get pucks on net with the man advantage.
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If Rielly wants to maintain his spot on the top line, he’s going to have to develop more of a shooter’s mentality consistently and not let those opportunities get away.
Rielly Has Answered Call Before
Even with some struggles on the top powerplay recently, Rielly has seen demotions in the past as he hasn’t had the best results. When he does get moved off the top power play unit, he doesn’t let the demotion get the best of him and he always does whatever he can to try and make it back.
It happened last season and even in the past, players like Tyson Barrie and Rasmus Sandin got looks and opportunities on the first power play unit. Rielly will do whatever it takes for the team to succeed, even if it means he’s not on the top power play unit. That could be the case right now, but that hasn’t deterred him at all.
If there’s one more thing that’s going for Rielly throughout his career when he hasn’t been shooting the puck enough, is that he has risen to the occasion before and shown that he can. More notably, in the postseason as the results have shown.
The last few playoffs, Rielly has been extremely involved and leading the offense more with his mindset and the results show it. In the 2023 playoffs, Rielly had a goals for percentage of 76.47 and a high danger chances for percentage of 61.29 at five-on-five. He scored in three straight games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, including the game winner in Game 3 and tying goal in Game 4.
Rielly scored some timely goals at key points when he needed to. Over the last 18 playoff games, he has seven goals along with 18 points. While most of those points have come at even strength, he looks more confident in big moments in every situation. That kind of production shows that Rielly can make his impact felt in the goal department. The fact that he has scored at pivotal moments, shows that he could maintain that mindset and not second guess himself.
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That confidence could go a long way for Rielly to keep his spot on the top powerplay unit. If he loses the top power play spot to Klingberg, there isn’t any doubt that Rielly will eventually find his way back as he has in the past.
Rielly Should be Motivated
The addition of Klingberg isn’t a major one where Rielly’s label as the team’s top defenseman is in doubt. Klingberg was brought in as a potential power specialist and potential second-pairing defender, but seeing as Reilly has been moved off the top power play in the past, this is one move where it’s going to keep him motivated as there will be a moment where he finds his way back.
Even though it’s happened before, be it a change in system or to get more offense, he knows what’s expected and that he will get back at some point once he finds his game as he has in the past. The fact that he has had bounce back results– especially in critical moments in a game– this could be a short-term thing rather than a long-term one as Rielly has shown that he can change the tide of a game. (from ‘Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly is back, but he’s still looking for his rhythm’, Toronto Star – 1/4/23).
Rielly is an integral part of this team for his leadership and on-ice play. This is something where it won’t affect him in that regard, but it should serve as an incentive to get better as a player and work on the one thing that has impacted his play, his shot. He has shown to utilize it effectively in the past and if he’s consistent in using it more, he should continue to produce and be a factor on the man advantage.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.
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