Maple Leafs: Rielly making strides toward being true No. 1 defenceman
Given how far Morgan Rielly has come — he’s having the best season of his career — the question becomes, how much better further can he go? “A long way,” Rielly says. With all the talk of the big freeagent defencemen on the horizon — Drew Doughty and Erik Karlsson among them — Rielly is transforming into a more offensive-minded blueliner and more in tune with what is considered a true No. 1 defenceman.
“He’s really taken off, had a good start to the season,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock says. “He’s our guy back there on the defensive side of things, our leader back on the defensive side. Makes it a lot easier for our forwards.”
A high-scoring blueliner in junior, Rielly parked his offensive game under coach Babcock to commit to the defensive side. In Babcock’s first two years as Leafs coach, Rielly played the toughest minutes against the toughest opponents, while the likes of Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev got the glory minutes on the power play.
“I just wanted to do what the coach and what the team needed,” Rielly says. “When Babs got here, we had conversations about trying to get better defensively, become more of a well-rounded player. At that time, it’s the most important thing. That’s what helped the team.
“Now, things changed and you grow as a player and get better. You want to add assets to your game. That’s the one thing, do the one thing the coach asks you to do, do it to the best of your ability, once you add that and get better at it, you want to add to your game and get better.” That’s how Babcock saw it, too. “You’ve got to learn to play against the best if you’re going to be a good player and be important,” Babcock says. “My first priority was to get him to be in a position to be responsible defensively.
“You’re going to get all your offence if you’ve got skill. Learn how to play without it, then you have it.”
In Babcock’s first year as Leafs coach, Rielly averaged 2:21 of shorthanded time on ice and 1:49 of power play time. Last year, Rielly averaged 2:22 short-handed and 0:58 with the man advantage. This year, Rielly’s short-handed time on ice is down to 1:25, while his power play time is up to 2:14.
“It’s nice, it’s good to get out there, it’s fun,” Rielly says of his power play time. “You want to play offensively. You want to help the team. That’s when you enjoy being out there, having the puck on the stick a bit more.”
Of course, it has also helped that Rielly has played with Ron Hainsey. Any time Babcock is asked about Rielly’s growth or importance, the coach points a finger at Hainsey in much the same way he points at Zach Hyman when talking about Auston Matthews’ success.
“Ron Hainsey is a guy who gets him (Rielly) settled down,” Babcock says. “Rielly is a skater. When he gets in trouble, he’s skating all over. The net’s right there. Stand right there and they’re going to come to you. It’s like anything, you get roasted a few times, you learn. Experience makes you better.”
Rielly is grateful that he has Hainsey to rely on.
“He’s built up a great reputation for himself,” Rielly says of Hainsey. “An outstanding defenceman and a leader. As for me playing with him, we’ve helped one another get better. When you play with a partner like him, who is as stable as partners get, it gives you more confidence and makes you more comfortable.”
Rielly’s points per game is at 0.64 (18 points in 28 games), the highest of his career. He’s on track for 52 points, which would easily eclipse the 36 he set in 2015-16, the year he signed six-year, $30-million (U.S.) extension, which could turn out to be a real bargain for the Maple Leafs.
In all, 38 defencemen have a higher cap hit than Rielly’s $5 million this year.
Top notch blueliners such as Doughty and Karlsson will be looking at deals for at least $10 million annually when they become free agents in the summer of 2019 when Rielly hits the midpoint of his deal.