Morgan Rielly's Struggles with the Toronto Maple Leafs: Should Fans Be Concerned?
Morgan Rielly has been essentially a non-factor this season, so should fans be concerned with his lack of production, or is it just early-season rust?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a hot and cold start to the year. They're 4-3-0 heading into Thursday's game against St. Louis and are looking to bounce back from their domination at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Beset by injuries and a slow start from their Core Four (who have started to pick things up recently) it's been a ride so far for new head coach Craig Berube.
Morgan Rielly's Challenges with the Toronto Maple Leafs
One Maple Leaf though who isn't playing really any factor is defenseman Morgan Rielly. So far he's seemed non-existent on the ice, only registering two points so far in seven games while also being a minus-2 and only having five hits. His other stats aren't too great either, only having 14 shots and giving the puck away six times.
Expected to play a huge part in the Maple Leafs' top defense pairing alongside Chris Tanev, the pairing was supposed to let Rielly shoulder less of the defensive load and focus on his offensive capabilities a bit more, but that hasn't been the case. Rielly's even found himself demoted this season already, with Craig Berube deciding to have Oliver Ekman-Larsson take over the powerplay duties on the first line.
Should Maple Leafs Fans Be Concerned?
The question now is, should Maple Leafs fans worry about Morgan Rielly?
No.
Well, at least not yet. The team is still only going into their eighth game of the season and Rielly is playing with a new defensive partner yet again, so he needs to figure it out with Tanev. Perhaps he's trying to do too much to impress his new coach and it's leading to his downfall. There are no obvious distractions that stand out regarding Rielly: No injuries, it's not a contract year, and he's not getting traded so it's a bit odd to see him looking very unlike himself so far.
If Rielly starts to pick things up in the next few games, we won't even remember the struggles he had. But if we go one-third of the season with Rielly finding himself with a serious lack of production then it's time to pull him aside and see what's going on. Rielly has been a star for Toronto since being drafted 5th overall by the team in 2012. He has 474 points in 798 games including a 20-goal season in 2018-2019 and has been a fixture of Toronto's defense for over a decade. He's also been Toronto's bright spots in the playoffs, scoring 40 points in 57 games and a plus-14, a far cry from how he's playing now.
Morgan Rielly hasn't had his typical start to the season and feels like a step behind some nights. But the season is still young and Rielly has a lot of time to turn things around. Though if he doesn't, don't expect the Toronto fans to not only be worried about Rielly but also angry with him.
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Should Morgan Rielly's lack of production for the Maple Leafs worry fans? | ||
