Rielly will be at centre of next leadership group
Defenceman kept improving as team’s season got worse
One day, this could be Morgan Rielly’s team.
When Maple Leaf president Brendan Shanahan took to the podium on Monday to explain more changes on the horizon for a team that lacked grit and character — hockey’s greatest sins — he left the clear impression that there are some players the team can build around.
The over-26 crowd — Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and others — could be on the way out. The young crowd, a group that is led by Rielly and includes Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland and Jonathan Bernier, are more likely to stay. The new leadership core will come from the latter group, which will eventually welcome prospect William Nylander and the team’s top pick in the June draft.
“I think so, yeah,” Rielly said, when asked if he wanted more of a leadership role next season. “That’s what people want to do. It takes time.”
Rielly is a smooth-skating, 20-yearold defenceman whose game was one of the few to improve as the season wore on, even as he deferred to older players in the room.
“I think we have a great core here,” he said. “The team, as is, is close. We have a lot of great pieces in place, we just have to put it all together.”
But with the front-office group that drafted him now fired and the only pro coaches he has ever had long gone, even he doesn’t feel secure as an untouchable.
“That’s just what people say,” said Rielly. “If a trade comes along and a team can improve, the GMs . . . will make that trade because it’s all about making the team better.”
Kadri, 24, and Bernier, 26, are both restricted free agents who want to return. Kadri’s overall game improved, although his offence fell off and off-ice issues hurt his reputation. And Bernier’s numbers weren’t up to those from his first season in Toronto (21 wins, a 2.87 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage this season, after a 26/2.68/.923 line in 2013-14).
But Shanahan spoke about players who want to be Leafs, and who want to thrive in an overheated media market. Both Kadri and Bernier fit the bill. Both expressed some uneasiness about the changes that are yet to come.
“Everyone kind of feels that (uncertainty) in the room,” said Bernier. “When you have a season like this, there’s usually big change.”
Holland, who grew up in Caledon bleeding blue and white, understands the challenges that come with being a Leaf.
“It seems like there’s a clean slate right across the board. I guess as a player, as well, it makes you a little bit nervous for the summer,” said Holland. “You can only shoot so many generals before some soldiers have to go. We definitely need to look in here and kind of take a little bit of responsibility for ourselves.”
The 24-year-old Holland is a big believer in Shanahan.
“He’s making his footprint felt right away,” said Holland. “When he comes in and he speaks to the group, everyone knows that he’s a leader. He’s one of those guys that you’d follow into battle and you want to jump on his back and go where he’s going.”