The John Klingberg signing could indicate a demotion for Morgan Rielly
On July 1st, Brad Treliving signed defenseman John Klingberg to a 1-year deal worth just over $4.1M for the upcoming season in what some saw as a puzzling move. The reason for the signing really is quite simple. In bringing in Klingberg, the Leafs are hoping to get more offense from their blueline. Not only that, but the Leafs also add some size to their blueline as Klingberg is 6'3 and 190 pounds.
The addition of Klingberg also adds an additional option to the Leafs' powerplay. While he had a down season in Anaheim, in his final two seasons in Dallas, he was arguably the best powerplay quarterback in the entire National Hockey League. By RAPM, he's number one in terms of impact on goals-for per minute on the powerplay compared to Morgan Rielly, who was 9th.
To begin the season, Rielly will most likely start as the PP1 quarterback, but if the unit struggles, or if Klingberg excels on PP2, there is a very strong chance that Klingberg may take over on PP1, bumping Rielly down to the 2nd unit.
If there is one thing that Treliving has done well so far this off-season, it's givinf Sheldon Keefe options. The Leafs have a number of different looks available to them this season and with no less than 6 forwards who can also play center and a few defenders who can play both the left and right side, we could see some unique lineup combinations in training camp as Keefe gets as many different looks as he can.
| POLL | ||
28 JUILLET | 613 ANSWERS The John Klingberg signing could indicate a demotion for Morgan Rielly Will Morgan Rielly lose his spot on the Leafs' top power play to John Klingberg this season? | ||
| Yes | 193 | 31.5 % |
| No | 307 | 50.1 % |
| They'll split PP1 duties | 113 | 18.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
