Morgan Rielly's Demotion Hits Hard as Ice Time Slashed in Leafs' Blowout Win Over Canadiens
The Toronto Maple Leafs' decision to demote defenseman Morgan Rielly has led to even better results than anyone could have imagined.
Heading into Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, it was already becoming pretty clear that Morgan Rielly was no longer the Maple Leafs' top defenseman.
The Leafs have leaned a lot more on the pairing of Jake McCabe and Christopher Tanev this season, with the pair essentially becoming the new top pairing in town -- and for good reason.
The McCabe/Tanev pairing has been successful in shutting down opposing teams' top players on a nightly basis, and has also been effective in moving the puck in the right direction. They also struggle a lot less in their own zone than the Rielly/Myers pairing has.
On Saturday morning, following Maple Leafs practice, head coach Craig Berube confirmed what many were expecting at some point, which was a demotion for Rielly, removing the longest-tenured Maple Leaf from the top power play unit once again, in favour of running a 5-forward top power play unit. This time, it appears as though the move will likely be permanent for Rielly.
Last night against Montreal, the Leafs gave Rielly a lot less leash than usual, and it yielded tremendous results in the game. Rielly was given just 16:27 in ice time against the Montreal Canadiens, and the result was a 7-3 Leafs win, scoring 7 straight goals to erase a 3-goal deficit and finish the game with a blowout win on the road.
Jake McCabe was the main beneficiary of the Rielly demotion, as McCabe, who recently returned to the lineup with a bang, skated nearly 10 extra minutes in this one, finishing the game with 26:06 in ice time. Chris Tanev was next in line with 24:16, followed by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who played 22:35 in the road win.
Rielly's 16:27 was 4th among defensemen on the team, with only Conor Timmins' 14:31 and Philippe Myers' 8:14 finishing lower than Rielly.
There is some concern that Rielly's contract may become problematic for the Maple Leafs -- if it isn't already.
Rielly currently owns a full no-movement clause through 2027-28, which means that moving him would require his permission. In the final 2 years of his deal, that NMC gives way to a modified no-trade clause that allows Rielly to submit a 10-team no-trade list.
Given the fact that he's in just his 3rd season of an 8-year pact, which he signed back in October of 2021, it seems highly unlikely that he'd agree to waive, especially after making Toronto his home for his entire professional career.
Could a demotion and a reduction in ice time change things in Rielly's eyes? Would he be a little more open to a move after seeing his role with the team diminish? I'm not so sure.
As Berube had stated on Friday, Rielly just wants to win. If playing a little less gives him the best chance to have his name etched on the Stanley Cup, I'm sure it's a sacrifice that he's more than happy to make.
