Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly is having a challenging season.
His offensive numbers are down significantly from last year when he scored 58 points (seven goals and 51 assists) in 72 games. The 30-year-old is on pace for 35 points by the end of the year, if he appears in all 82 games.
That would be Rielly’s lowest total since the 2021 season, where he scored 35 points in 55 games. Even in that season, Rielly was producing 0.63 points per game versus this year’s 0.42 total.
“Trying to keep everything in check. I mean, I feel good despite numbers and whatnot. It’s a battle right now to try to compete and play the best I can,” the defenseman said following Toronto’s 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
“I think we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform and I’m no different. We’re all striving to be the best we can be, and when it’s not going your way, you do everything you can to change that.”
On Toronto’s first goal against, Rielly lost the battle for the loose puck behind the net before Marat Khusnutdinov beat Joseph Woll to make it 1-0 for the Wild.
“I mean, just trying to get to the puck first,” Rielly said, “and he makes a play on me and we’re outnumbered.”
The defenseman’s underlying numbers this season haven’t been awful. His 51.44 xGF% at five-on-five ties him for third among Maple Leafs defensemen, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
And it’s fairly on par with how he’s played throughout most of his time in the NHL with the Maple Leafs. However, he and Toronto head coach Craig Berube understand that there should be an uptick in his offense.
“Well, I mean, can Morgan play better? Yes, he can. We all know that. He knows that. And he’s trying to work through it right now,” Berube said on Wednesday night.
“So, again, like our team, it’s a team game. That’s not all on Morgan. Yes, he’s a guy that we need offense from, from the back end. And he’s just got to stick with it. We’ll keep working at it. We’ll try to help him as much as we can.”
Craig Berube on Morgan Rielly: “He knows that he wants to be better and he’s just trying to work through it. And we’re trying to help him. As coaches, that’s our job.”
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) January 30, 2025
Rielly has played significant minutes with several of Toronto’s defensemen this season, including Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Philippe Myers, and now, Jake McCabe. Although it might be difficult for Rielly given he keeps switching partners, no excuses are coming from…