Needing to know
New realities sink in for Morgan Rielly, Leafs
TORONTO - Morgan Rielly just got back to Toronto, but he and the Maple Leafs could be on the road again for the NHL’S proposed 24-team playoff tournament.
There is increasing talk Toronto might not be on the short list as one of two hub cities when the Eastern and Western conferences are split into 12 teams, after the league and players settle on a time frame amid ongoing concerns COVID-19. That decision is likely to be announced in a week or two.
Not that the defenceman and alternate captain would care too much at this point.
“There might be a small advantage just because of the rink (Scotiabank Arena), but I think if we host, I assume all the players will have to be in hotels anyway,” Rielly said in a Zoom call with Toronto media.
“The rules will apply to us, just like all other teams. So, I don’t think that there’ll be a huge advantage in terms of the geography of where it is.”
The SBA would certainly have an unfamiliar vibe to it, never mind the games being staged in August heat.
There is unlikely to be any fans in the 19,000-seat building, at least not living, breathing ones, and for Games 3 and 4 of the proposed best-of-five qualifying round against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Leafs might have to shift down to the visitors’ bench as they wouldn’t be the home team.
It’s all superseded by dealing with health concerns, as COVID-19 remains a threat.
“If you ask guys to go play just about anywhere, they’ll probably agree eventually, but it’s important we take care of what’s important first — player safety and the general public,” Rielly said.
Reilly does not have a wife and family, but frequent COVID-19 testing for all players and their ability to have partners, children and some relatives with them for all or part of the event in a hub city are among the points the players union and the league must negotiate.
At least the announcement about Phase 3’s formal camp start date in July was a huge step for a league in limbo since March 12.
“That’s kind of what we’ve been waiting for,” Rielly said. “If you ask most players what the hardest part was, it was the uncertainty.
“For me, personally, just trying to wait to hear word about when to make travel plans back to Toronto (from his off-season home in British Columbia).”
Phase 2 of the Return To Play plan was Monday’s opening of training facilities to small groups, with up to five or six players on the ice with a few instructors.
“I do believe we’ll play, it’s a matter of when. But it’s not entirely in our control.”
At least the Leafs will have a good book on the Jackets whenever the series gets started. Toronto took three of four points in the regular season, but last played Columbus on Oct. 21 with a third game that was scheduled in late March scrapped by the coronavirus pandemic.
“They’re a good team, they play hard, they have their certain style and they’re wellcoached,” Rielly said of Columbus.
“To my understanding, they’re healthy (Seth Jones, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson all recovered from injuries) and like everyone else, they’re eager to get going. So, I think that play-in round will be extremely competitive.”