As the nine game mark approaches, the Toronto Maple Leafs face a significant decision with 19-year-old defenceman Morgan Rielly. Send him back to the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, or allow him to play 10 games and run off the first year of his Entry Level Contract.
When asked if the Maple Leafs should keep Rielly after nine games played, Don Cherry said they should do it. The reason? Cherry believes it will be detrimental to Rielly’s overall game to send him back to junior to play with talent that is not on par with the NHL, plus Cherry thinks the young man from Vancouver has been the Leafs best D-man this year.
I disagree with Cherry on the first point. I don’t think sending down Rielly would have an affect on his game, whether it be on or off the ice. When the Leafs sent a 19-year old Nazem Kadri back to the London Knights in 2009 after an impressive preseason with the Leafs, it did not affect Nazem at all. In fact, Kadri ended up 93 PTS in 56 GP with the Knights. Being sent back to the WHL does not seem like it would bother Rielly mentally either, as he comes across as being a calm, rational minded individual, an attitude reflective of his gameplay.
Sending Rielly back to Moose Jaw may not have any influence that would directly change his play, but sending him back to junior could negatively impact the Leafs. Cherry’s second reason as to why Rielly should remain with the big club, that he has been the best of the back-end, is arguably true. At times, it is almost as if Jake Gardiner is playing a careless game of shinny, Carl Gunnarsson has been the definition of inconsistent, and it seems as if Paul Ranger can be penciled in for at least five giveaways per game and will get burned along the boards by a quick winger. Though captain Dion Phaneuf has been playing a steady, conservative game and Cody Franson has seven points and is a +1, Rielly’s play has arguably been the best.
What is it about Rielly’s style that has made him so good this season though? He has been smart with the puck. On a team prone to so many giveaways and awful passes, Rielly is almost always making the right decision with the puck at either end of the ice. In the defensive zone, when under pressure, he can get rid of the puck with ease, whether it be with a quick dump out or with a smart breakout pass. In the offensive zone, he usually seems to be in the right place at the right time, and when he has possession of the puck he is calm, collected, and either makes the right pass or puts the puck to the net. He is not flashy by any means, but he does his job well and that is all that matters.
There are two potential problems that come with keeping Rielly though. The first being that the Leafs have a history of rushing young defenseman. Whether it be Jim Benning, Luke Richardson or more recently Luke Schenn, the Leafs have had bad luck with pushing their young draft pick defenseman too early. If they keep Rielly, I do not see this happening though. Take a look at Schenn. Hindsight of course is 20/20 but going back, he was never really good both zones of the ice as Rielly is. When Schenn had the puck in the offensive zone, he looked lost, like a deer caught in the headlights. Rielly doesn’t, he looks ready and confident with the puck.
The other problem could be due to no room for Rielly to play. When Mark Fraser returns from injury, the Leafs will be stuck for him finding room to play among the seven defenseman. If they are going to hang on to Rielly, the only possible move may be to send either Gardiner to the Marlies or bench Ranger. Gardiner would be the easier option as he is on a two-way deal, but he shows flashes of brilliance now and then, and remember what happened last year with the “Free Jake Gardiner” debacle? I doubt Nonis and co. would want to deal with that again. Because they might have trouble sending Ranger down due to his no-trade clause, the best option if they want to keep Rielly may be to put Ranger in the press box. Though it is a shame to waste $1 million in cap space, scratching Ranger seems as if it could be likely.
Dave Nonis will be faced with a challenging decision to make very soon regarding Rielly, and though you have heard my two cents, I trust Nonis to make the right call. He has done nearly everything right so far (though I could see potential criticism of him for his managing of cap space), so I will not start doubting him, regardless of his decision of what to do with Morgan Rielly.
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