The longest-tenured veteran on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster wants to continue holding that distinction for “as long” as he can.
Morgan Rielly has been a member of the Maple Leafs’ organization since he was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. Rielly made his debut with the Maple Leafs during the 2013-14 season and has been in Toronto ever since.
The 32-year-old defenseman will be a member of the Maple Leafs for a 14th season. However, his future was cast in doubt when the organization went through an overhaul when it comes to the roster and the front office. There were question marks as to whether or not Rielly would even be a member of the Maple Leafs as trade rumors intense.
The veteran defenseman recently addressed those offseason rumors with the media, saying he wants to remain in Toronto for as long as possible.
“I love this team and my teammates,” said Rielly. “Whatever the downs are, the challenges, I think the ups outweigh them greatly. I feel very fortunate being a Maple Leaf and I want to continue that for as long as I can. On that line, there’s an element of my performance and my game has to hold up that end of the bargain on the result side. Hopefully both those things can happen.”
John Chayka on Morgan Rielly: No ‘Serious Trade’ Opportunities
The former All-Star defenseman is coming off of arguably his weakest season, posting just 11 goals and 25 assists in 78 games played. His plus/minus of -18 was the second-worst mark of his career and it was the sixth-worst on the team.
With that being said, new general manager John Chayka has made it clear that Rielly is an integral part of the Leafs moving forward as they look to return to the playoffs. Rielly had been a key member of the Leafs as they advanced to the playoffs for nine consecutive years before missing the postseason last year.
Chayka said there were no serious offseason trade possibilities that materialized for Rielly.
“At no point did we ever have what I would characterize as a serious trade opportunity with Morgan Rielly,” Chayka said.
Jim Hiller on How He Plans to Use Morgan Rielly
Jim Hiller is the new head coach and he previously served as an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs earlier on in Rielly’s career. It was during the 2018-19 season that Rielly posted a career year with 2o goals to go along with 52 assists.
Hiller opened up on how he plans to use Rielly this season. The veteran defenseman could be playing a key role on a power play unit that features No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna along with high-scoring forward Matthew Knies.
“As we think about this season and what we’re trying to accomplish and do, certainly getting the puck in the forwards’ hands in positions that they can go create offense more often is a really big part of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Chayka said. “If you look at Morgan’s career, he’s been able to skate, move the puck and create offence. So at no point was this some situation where we didn’t want Morgan Rielly or we don’t value Morgan Rielly. It’s the opposite.”
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