As he entered the 2026-27 regular season, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly was at a low point. At 32 years old, Rielly was coming off a season in which he had only 36 points in 78 games – his worst full-season total since 2016-17 – and he was rightfully criticized (along with the rest of the Maple Leafs) for struggling at both ends of the ice.
Rielly had earned his place as one of Toronto’s bedrock members, but there were scores of Leafs fans demanding he be traded – and when that didn’t happen despite Rielly giving Buds GM John Chayka a short list of teams he’d waive his no-trade clause for – those fans had knives out for Rielly to start the season.
However, rather than pout and be sour about his predicament, Rielly quietly went to work rehabilitating his game. And lo and behold, he’s done exactly that.
We’re not here to tell you Rielly is a Norris Trophy front-runner, but Rielly has produced nine points in 13 games – the most of any Maple Leafs blueliner. Rielly is also tied for third in the NHL for primary assists with seven.
Only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid have recorded more. He's also tied with Quinn Hughes for the fourth-most assists provided at 5-on-5.
Leafs coach Jim Hiller has found Rielly a reliable ‘D’ partner in Troy Stecher, and although Rielly will never be known as a shutdown D-man, Hiller clearly trusts him, as he’s averaged 20:18 of ice time in his past five games. 'It's Not Hard': Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly Doesn't See Issue With Offensive Tendencies With D-Partner Darren Raddysh There is room for improvement from the Toronto Maple Leafs' pairing of Morgan Rielly and Darren Raddysh.
But there is no panic regarding the offensive tendencies of the two blueliners. Now, could there come a point where Chayka finds a trade partner for Rielly?
Sure there could. But by playing well coming out of the gate this season, Rielly has helped his value, both internally and