Opinion: To say it’s been a trying season for Morgan Rielly would be putting it mildly. The Leafs defenceman has 15 games left to get back to form for the playoffs.
For those who needed a reminder of what he’s capable of, Rielly showed flashes of it on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. His greatest strength is his skating. Many critics get caught up in his lack of offence — and yes, his 20-goal, 72-point season seems like eons ago — but when a No. 1 defenceman is at their best, it’s their ability to control the tempo of a game that stands out. That happens when you have the puck on your stick an awful lot.
In the Leafs’ loss against the Sabres, we did get a great look at a defenceman controlling and dictating the play, but it came from 20-year-old Owen Power, who played eight minutes more than Rielly’s 18:34. His ice time is strategically down from his season average of 22:09 minutes per game as coach Sheldon Keefe hopes less will provide him with more. Hedman, by comparison, is averaging 23:58 minutes per game, while current Norris Trophy favourite Erik Karlsson is averaging 25:41 in San Jose.
And no one in Leafs Nation could have forecasted the extent of Rielly’s struggles just a year-and-a-half after he signed an eight-year, $60 million extension. But the fans have clearly been frustrated, and maybe that will be provide him with a sense of urgency to turn his game around like he did on Wednesday. The fan base has a reputation for eating their own on occasion.
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