‘It’s a battle’: Leafs’ Rielly on offensive woes

TORONTO – Morgan Rielly is utilized to contributing with the puck connected his stick.

The Maple Leafs defenceman had a career-high 68 points a mates of years backmost and chipped successful different 58 past play arsenic portion of a well-oiled attack.

The offence has mostly dried up successful 2024-25 for Rielly. His teammates person been bitten by the aforesaid bug implicit the past week.

The Minnesota Wild picked up a 3-1 triumph Wednesday arsenic Toronto dropped a 3rd consecutive crippled successful regularisation wherever the radical could lone muster a solitary goal.

“We tin bash a amended occupation of getting connected the inside,” said Leafs skipper Auston Matthews, who deed the station successful the archetypal period. “(It’s) conscionable bearing down connected it. Sometimes that’s the mode it goes.

“Sometimes you get successful these periods wherever you’re warring it a small bit, the puck’s not bouncing your way.”

Things haven’t been bouncing Rielly’s mode for overmuch of 2024-25. The team’s highest-paid blueliner with a US$7.5-million yearly wage headdress deed has scored conscionable erstwhile implicit his past 37 games.

“I consciousness bully contempt numbers,” said Rielly, who has 5 goals and 17 assists for 22 points successful 51 contests. “It’s a conflict close now. Just trying to vie and play the champion I can.”

Toronto has struggled to find a accordant spouse for the 30-year-old, but caput manager Craig Berube has liked what he’s seen with Jake McCabe connected Rielly’s flank.

“Can Morgan play better? Yes, helium can,” Berube said. “We each cognize that, helium knows that. He’s trying to enactment done it close now. It’s a squad game. That’s not each connected Morgan. Yes, he’s a feline that we request offence from.

“We’ll effort to assistance him arsenic overmuch arsenic we can.”

Rielly had much licence to roam erstwhile erstwhile seat brag Sheldon Keefe was successful charge, but helium wasn’t making excuses for his play nether the tighter, risk-averse strategy the Stanley Cup-winning Berube brought to Toronto erstwhile helium was hired past spring.

“We each enactment a batch of unit connected ourselves to perform,” said Rielly, who mislaid a conflict down his nett that led to Minnesota’s archetypal goal. “We’re each striving to beryllium the champion we tin be. When it’s not going your way, you bash everything you tin to alteration that. It starts with hard enactment and being a bully teammate.”

Leafs winger William Nylander, who scored the lone extremity against the Wild and besides deed the crossbar connected a breakaway, said Toronto’s inclination to usage of 5 forwards connected the powerfulness play has contributed to Rielly’s dip.

“As an violative defenceman, those are immoderate minutes that, for accumulation purposes, you don’t get,” Nylander said. “He’s been playing large … puck’s not going in.”

Toronto (30-19-2) fell retired of archetypal spot successful the Atlantic Division connected Wednesday aft the Florida Panthers (30-19-3) picked up a 3-0 triumph implicit the Los Angeles Kings.

“It’s a pugnacious agelong close present with scoring — that’s the bottommost line,” said Berube, whose radical besides mislaid 5-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets and 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators arsenic portion of its existent slide. “Just gotta conflict done it.”

Trending Now

The aforesaid goes for Rielly.

“Our squad is highly committed and guys are motivated and focused,” said the North Vancouver, B.C., product. “There’s nary deficiency of effort, there’s nary deficiency of mentation from anyone. I’m doing everything I tin to lend much offensively, beryllium up successful the play and thrust that without taking hazard connected the antiaircraft side.

“We’re each moving unneurotic to effort to play our best.”

WHEELS UP

The Leafs volition question to Edmonton connected Thursday up of Saturday’s day with the Oilers to unfastened a four-game roadworthy travel earlier the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The plaything retired West, which besides includes stops successful Calgary, Seattle and Vancouver, marks the archetypal clip Toronto has been retired of municipality for an extended play this season.

The Leafs could besides get injured forwards John Tavares (lower-body injury) and Matthew Knies (upper-body injury) backmost astatine immoderate constituent connected the trip.

“I’m gladsome we’re going connected the road,” Berube said. “It’ll beryllium bully for the squad to beryllium unneurotic and walk immoderate clip together.”

SWEDISH DELIGHT

Nylander rang that changeable disconnected robust connected chap Swede and 4 Nations teammate Filip Gustavsson earlier yet getting 1 past his countryman successful the third.

“He’s conscionable ace calm backmost there,” Nylander said earlier adding with a grin: “Just a large Swedish goalie.”

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Jan. 29, 2025.