Morgan Rielly Would Benefit From a Reduced Role on Maple Leafs’ Defence

It was definitely a season to forget for Toronto Maple Leafs defender Morgan Rielly. He saw his lowest point total over the last five seasons and was the talk of trade rumours leading up to the start of the offseason. That’s tough for anyone to be in that spotlight, especially for a player that has stuck with the team that drafted him and has been through the highs and lows. 

Rielly was open about everything and the dedication he has for the team is there and admirable. Hopefully, this season is one where he can turn things around for the better. While the defense went through some changes, Rielly does have a path to try and turn things around. 

Rielly Should be Used in Lesser Role

Reilly has always played a significant role with the Maple Leafs since his second season, while averaging 22:03 of ice time throughout his career. The fact that he’s getting older, the competition is quicker and his defensive woes were magnified, it’s becoming evident that he may not be able to handle that workload anymore. 

He has been a top pairing defender for this team, but the expectations have fallen short of that label as he hasn’t had that game breaking impact and offensive consistency compared to other defenders. There’s always a chance that he can flip the script and once again be a reliable presence. There’s reason to believe that.

Rielly saw some of his best seasons when new head coach Jim Hiller was an assistant under Mike Babcock. He had 72 points in 2018-19 where he finished third in scoring among defenders and was close to matching that total in 2021-22 where he had 68 points. Since then, his production has dwindled. The hope is that Rielly can turn things around with a new, but familiar voice behind the bench. 

However, at 32 years old, that offensive touch could be a stretch. Which is why it may be time to lessen Rielly’s role with the team and reconfigure the defense this season given his past struggles. 

Rielly Ideal Second Pairing Defender

It feels obvious to pair Rielly up with a top offseason addition in Darren Raddysh, but is that an ideal pairing balance wise? Both would be contributing offensively, but given Rielly’s past defensive struggles, it’s best to probably pair him up with a defensive minded presence. Raddysh thrived with a two-way player in J.J. Moser last season as his partner, being together for 934 minutes with a +23 goal differential. 

With a new face in the lineup and one that would provide an instant impact at five-on-five and on the power play, Rielly’s not going to be seeing the ice time that he once saw. He was in and out of that role previously and while he did average 2:17 per game last season, it yielded little results with six power play points. 

At the moment, Rielly is projected to be on the second pairing and Jake McCabe is slated to be on the first with Raddysh. Given how Rielly’s production has dipped and his shortcomings on the backend have been magnified, putting him in a different role could do wonders. McCabe has always been a minute eater and with Raddysh providing a steadier two-way game with the offense, that could be an interesting first pairing.

Rielly on the other hand will still be a play driver on the second-pairing and having someone like Chris Tanev could help with the defensive inconsistencies. Rielly has always fared better with a defensive-minded partner and if Tanev is healthy, there’s no one better to help him out than him. Rielly isn’t going to be on the top power play unit with Raddysh’s heavy shot, so giving him some minutes on the second unit could help, but then he’ll be battling with Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the process. 

Rielly on the second pairing could be used as a way to restart his game and lighten the workload he has taken on the last few seasons. He can still be productive and impactful without having to face the challenges that he did on the first pairing. That could be what he needs to focus more on his game and not worry about carrying the brunt of the work load. 

He won’t be the go-to defender on the back end as McCabe can shut things down and he isn’t carrying the offense by himself with Raddysh in the fold. Bringing down his minutes slightly could rejuvenate him and make him more focussed in a new, but still important role for the team.