VANCOUVER – Sheldon Keefe believes the elite should be ready and able to do it all.
They should not be typecast in how they help the team, but rather spread their wings and develop new layers to their game.
It is why the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs is content feeding sniper supreme Auston Matthews tough defensive matchups and why he’s introducing William Nylander to the not-so-fun side of five-on-four hockey.
The great ones should find ways to be great everywhere.
So, when it came to his No. 1 defenceman, Keefe felt it important that Morgan Rielly not only quarterback the top power-play unit but take on a top-four penalty-killing role as well.
Sure, part of that has been born out of necessity. Toronto had lost a pure defender, Zach Bogosian, to free agency, and Keefe doesn’t yet have the trust to rely too heavily on Travis Dermott, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren in such vulnerable scenarios.
But mostly it was born out a philosophical conviction that riding your best horses is the smart play. Just as new power-play architect Spencer Carbery argued for Rielly to resume his seniority atop PP1, new blueline assistant coach Dean Chynoweth pushed hard for Rielly to contribute more at 4-on-5.
“He’s an elite defenceman in the league, and I think elite defencemen in the league should be contributing to your team in all facets. That's a really important thing,” Keefe says. “We need him to grow in that area, and we also need to show confidence in him.”
Keefe and Rielly spoke frequently about this next step in the 27-year-old’s evolution, and the coach is quick to credit the natural offensive defenceman for committing himself to life sans puck.
Rielly has been trucking big minutes for years now, and he’s hovering around 24 per night again this season.
What’s changed is the nature of those minutes. Rielly is up to 1:54 per night on the PK and, with former shutdown pair Jake Muzzin–Justin Holl lacking some of their past magic, he and partner T.J. Brodie are getting fed some tougher defensive assignments.
Tuesday’s 5-1 clampdown of the Edmonton Oilers was a fine example, as Rielly-Brodie were dealt a heaping helping of NHL co-leading scorer Leon Draisaitl’s line and still earned 97 per cent of expected goals. (Plus, beat him 2-0 in real goals.)
“He's just a superstar,” beams goaltender Jack Campbell, the exact guy you’d like a prospective employer to call for a reference. “He does it all. Just such a world-class skater. Defensively, he's textbook. Everything he does is amazing, and his leadership in the room and the competitiveness he has to win every night is infectious.”
As Rielly touches down home in YVR for his annual homecoming date against the Canucks — plus a few extra practice days due to the Calgary Flames’ COVID outbreak — he’s now in a position where he can be both a shutdown factor and a driver of offence.
Rielly and those stingy Maple Leafs — believe it — rank fourth overall and first in the Atlantic Division in goals against (2.5 per game).
Toronto Maple Leafs' William Nylander (88), Morgan Rielly (44) and T.J. Brodie (78) celebrate a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during third period NHL action in Edmonton on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. (Jason Franson/CP)
Now in his second tour with stay-at-home rush-buster Brodie to his right, Rielly is quick to credit his quiet partner — and the consistency of having the same partner almost nightly — for making his own life easier in just about every way possible.
“He's always there. He's always in the right spot. He breaks pucks out. He's got a great gap. Blocks shots. He does everything you could ask for in a teammate. So, him and Jack and there's plenty of guys you can name off. But it does feel like we got a good thing going,” Rielly says.
“Whenever you are playing with a different D partner or you're playing with different linemates, it takes a little bit of time. The more you work at things, the more you talk and you become comfortable with each other just as people off the ice as you get comfortable talking about things and expressing your opinions on plays that happen in the course of the game, I think that helps. And that takes time.
“Me and T.J. have tried to work at it. I think we want to be really good for one another and, as a pairing, help our team. So, we're gonna continue to keep building.”
Also building: Rielly’s case for inclusion on Team Canada’s Olympic squad — if it happens.
(The diplomatic defenceman doesn’t want to wade too deep into the NHL’s current COVID conundrum, saying: “We'll do whatever we have to do to abide by any rules that are put in place in order to keep this train rolling. We're just happy to be playing and being on the road.”)
“Mo’s been lights out,” Wayne Simmonds raves. “He's been unbelievable. He's just so smooth with the puck. He’s got such a great stick defensively. He rarely ever makes mistakes, so Mo has been an anchor on the blueline for us. He's gonna continue to be.”
"Everything he does is amazing," Jack Campbell says when describing his teammate. "And his leadership in the room and the competitiveness he has to win every night is infectious. (Mark Blinch/NHL via Getty Images)
Literally a point-per-game beast (22 in 22) since inking his eight-year, $60-million extension with Toronto in October, there is security in Rielly’s performance. He rates top five among NHL D-men in game-winning goals (two), power-play points (10), assists (22), and points (26).
The alternate captain leads all Leafs defencemen in plus/minus (plus-11) and is an eye-popping plus-52 over his past four seasons.
When the Leafs rolled through Anaheim last month, Ducks coach (and former Marlies coach) Dallas Eakins was asked a question about Auston Matthews and flipped the spotlight Rielly’s way instead, arguing that he doesn’t get enough shine for his contributions to the Leafs.
Certainly, in some corners of the Nation, Rielly’s on-ice talents and his off-ice leadership has, at times, gone underappreciated.
But over the last six weeks — whether he’s hanging his first four-assist night, shutting down an MVP, or ripping off a 12-points-in-seven-games streak — Rielly’s excellence is difficult to deny.
“Confident. Reliable on both sides of the puck. I think he's got more to offer us here offensively, and it's on us to as a team to get him engaged more, get more happening on the rush where he can get involved. But he's defended really well,” Keefe says.
“The defensive ability that he's added here on both 5-on-5 and the penalty kill has really come a long way — and he’s really embraced that.
“We're just seeing a more complete version of Morgan.”
