Sheldon Keefe raves about recent play of one Leafs defensemen
It's always hard to live up to the expectations of a long-term contract, let alone one that affects the salary cap at $7.5 million a season. Morgan Rielly had a fantastic season in 2021-22 where he scored 10 goals and 68 points in a full 82- game season, however there was a lot missing in his game in 2022-23. Fortunately for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they had some of the best defensive depth in the NHL to overshadow his struggles this year.
Rielly missed over a month of hockey from the 21st of November to the 29th of December and joined several marquee defensemen on the injured list. The depth was tested but they came out with flying colours. The Leafs then added 3 defensemen at the trade deadline and have had 6-8 able-bodied defensemen ahead of every game since the deadline.
Rielly was a healthy scratch a few times as Sheldon Keefe was rotating his defensemen and trying to get his key players much needed rest. However his first scratch had more to do with his lackadaisical play than rotating defensemen in and out of the lineup like a game of musical chairs.
That point hasn't been lost on Keefe either:
"Over the last six, eight weeks, Morgan has played some really good hockey. He, probably like a lot of our guys, has been kind of waiting to turn from regular season on to playoff preparation and be excited about that. He's a very important guy for us."
The playoffs were a foregone conclusion for the Maple Leafs this season and with that, the doldrums of an 82-game season can set in at any given moment to any given individual. It seemed at times that Rielly mailed it in, he was struggling mightily over stretches, but re-found his touch near the end of the season.
In the month of March, a span of 13 games, Rielly averaged 19:24 TOI and only reached the 20-minute mark 5 times. Over the season he averaged the lowest ATOI since the 2017-18 season but with a playoff berth locked up, so many defensemen to choose from, and Keefe liking to rest his stars ahead of a pivotal playoff series, he's hoping that players like Rielly can turn that switch on.
It's a good to sign to see Morgan Rielly back to playing the game the way that we all know he can. With the playoffs right around the corner, look for his role to increase, his minutes to sky-rocket, and hopefully his point totals to match his past playoff success as they look to advance past the first round for the first time since 2003-04.
