The Maple Leafs Need the Return of the Old Morgan Rielly
For much of the summer, Morgan Rielly's name kept popping up in trade rumours. Every day, it seemed someone had Rielly waiving his no-movement clause so the Leafs could free up cap space to sign someone a little sexier. One hockey analyst after another wondered whether Rielly might be the next player headed out the door. Yet here we are, and he's still in Toronto.
Rielly will likely stay with the Maple Leafs.
Assuming that's how things stay, the real question isn't whether the Maple Leafs should have traded him. It's how they should use him. Over the years, we've learned exactly what Morgan Rielly is. He's an offensive defenceman who plays his best hockey when he's moving the puck, joining the rush, and creating scoring chances. That's not a criticism—it's his greatest strength.
There was a reason he was in the Norris Trophy conversation a few years ago. When Rielly is playing aggressively and driving the offence, he's one of the NHL's better puck-moving defencemen. Yes, he works better with a stronger defenceman as a partner. And that remains the challenge. If the team is going to use him well, it has to find the right partner to put beside him.
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Flash back to 2018-19, and that defenceman was Ron Hainsey.
Think back to his best offensive season alongside Hainsey. Hainsey wasn't there to make Rielly a different player. He was there to give Rielly the confidence to play his game. That's the kind of balance the Maple Leafs should be looking for again.
This season, Emil Andrae could become an intriguing option. The young defenceman has shown good defensive instincts, an active stick, and strong gap control. Those qualities could allow Rielly to activate more often without feeling like he has to carry every responsibility at both ends of the ice. At the same time, Rielly's experience and offensive instincts could be invaluable to Andrae as he continues to develop.
If Andrae isn't ready, Troy Stecher also makes plenty of sense. The numbers from last season quietly support the pairing, as Rielly posted some of his strongest five-on-five possession and expected-goal numbers when Stecher was on the ice with him. Sometimes the analytics simply confirm what your eyes are already telling you: certain players complement each other.
Imagine what might happen if Rielly were to regain his game.
The Maple Leafs don't need Morgan Rielly to suddenly become a different defenceman at this stage of his career. They need to put him in situations where he can do what he has always done best. Give him a partner who can help stabilize the defensive side of the game, and let Rielly do what made him such an effective player in the first place.
Sometimes the answer isn't changing the player. Sometimes it's changing the way you use him. Imagine what might happen if Rielly could recapture the form he showed six seasons ago. The Maple Leafs might discover they already have the offensive defenceman they've been looking for.