We could see a change to Morgan Rielly's deployment this season
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The Leafs have four preseason games left and two weeks remaining until the start of the 2022-23 regular season. They're currently dealing with a bevy of injuries, a lot of which are blueliners. Last night, it forced head coach Sheldon Keefe to get creative and supplant a pair of forwards into the vacancies left on the blueline when Jordie Benn and Carl Dahlstrom suffered first period injuries against the Habs. Now, during Thursday's practice, the Buds are showing even more flexibility.
Per The Athletic's Jonas Siegel, the Leafs had Morgan Rielly taking part in line rushes on the right side as opposed to his usual spot on the left. Rielly has not played the right side in a number of years. The experiment didn't work well the first time around, but perhaps a more mature and developed Morgan Rielly can make it work this time around.
The Leafs already have a number of left shot defenders who can shift over to the right side when needed and one lefty who actually prefers to play the right side in T.J. Brodie. If the right-side Rielly experiment is successful, it will give the Leafs even more flexibility, which is never a bad thing.
The best thing about it is that it was Rielly who volunteered to try the right side out again. He also has the benefit of leaning on T.J. Brodie for tips on how he might find some success on his weak side.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 29 | 126 ANSWERS We could see a change to Morgan Rielly's deployment this season Will we see Rielly take shifts on the right side this season? | ||
| Yes | 70 | 55.6 % |
| No | 19 | 15.1 % |
| If it's not broke, don't fix it. Leave him alone | 37 | 29.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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