Former Habs GM reveals that he wanted to select Leafs defenseman over Galchenyuk in the 2012 draft
Morgan Rielly has been a staple on the Leafs' blueline since being drafted fifth overall in the 2012 draft. He has spent his entire 10-year career in the blue and white and has been a part of some of the worst teams in recent memory, but also some of the best. When he was drafted, the Leafs were in desperate need of a top-pairing defenseman and they got it in Rielly. Things could have gone vastly different for Rielly and the Leafs, however, during the draft had former Habs GM Marc Bergevin not listened to his scouting staff in Montreal.
In a February 2020 interview with La Presse, Marc Bergevin revealed that he wanted to select Rielly over Alex Galchenyuk with the third overall selection.
"Yes, I liked him very much. But I had just been hired on May 2, and my new staff really liked Alex Galchenyuk. I was with Chicago that season, and we were drafting later. We weren't wasting our time with Galchenyuk, who was probably going to be picked first; besides, he had hardly played that winter. I looked at our situation at the center, we had [David] Desharnais, [Tomas] Plekanec, and Chucky was considered a center. You take office, you haven't seen Galchenyuk play and you're going to force them to take another player? It starts a relationship well. I left to choose. In addition, I agreed, I knew that we needed center players. But I really liked Morgan Rielly," Bergevin told La Presse at the time.
How different would the careers of Rielly and Galchenyuk be had Rielly been the 3rd overall pick? Would Rielly have a Norris Trophy? Would Galchenyuk not have been rushed into the NHL, allowing him to develop and recovery properly from his knee injury? Who knows, but it could have changed the trajectory of both players' careers. Galchenyuk has bounced around the league and now finds himself playing overseas thanks to his recent legal troubles, while Rielly is still a top-pairing defenseman for the Leafs and in the second year of an 8-year extension he signed in 2021.
Over his 10 seasons and 719 games, Rielly has amassed 73 goals and 414 points while Galchenyuk has played 654 games over 11 seasons registering 146 goals and 354 points, with most of his production coming in his first 6 seasons. At this point, it's safe to say that the Leafs not only dodged a bullet, but also had the luck of the Irish on their side in the 2012 draft.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 6 | 165 ANSWERS Former Habs GM reveals that he wanted to select Leafs defenseman over Galchenyuk in the 2012 draft Do you think Morgan Rielly is a legitimate top pairing defenseman on most teams? | ||
| Yes, Mo is a solid top-pairing guy | 100 | 60.6 % |
| No, he's only a top pairing guy on a few teams | 44 | 26.7 % |
| I don't think he's really a top pairing D at all | 21 | 12.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
