Mo Rielly - "Our Norris Trophy Candidate"

[Wafflewhipper]

Elite PK from 44

1) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released

2) Turn and throw useless crosscheck to non-threat

3) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released

Yeah that’s about the size of it. He runs around like that all the time

 

[ICBM]

Yeah that’s about the size of it. He runs around like that all the time

Zaytsev was talking about that in his interview after leaving the Leafs. Was fuming actually. He never called names, but it was crystal clear. Was angry with 'hero' Rielly pinching and scoring while 'peasants' had to block shots and got all the criticism.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Zaytsev was talking about that in his interview after leaving the Leafs. Was fuming actually. He never called names, but it was crystal clear. Was angry with 'hero' Rielly pinching and scoring while 'peasants' had to block shots and got all the criticism.

You do realize that Rielly and Zaitsev rarely played together after Zaitsev's first season. Between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, Zaitsev and Rielly played a total of 64 minutes together 5-on-5. Zaitsev played 2410 minutes away from Rielly, Rielly played 2732 minutes away from Zaitsev. They were paired together in their first season but that was stopped after the Leafs signed Hainsey. Zaitsev was also given a ton of offensive liberty in that first season and it was the major reason he received his contract extension in the first place.

Meanwhile, in that same 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 timeframe, Zaitsev and Gardiner played 1629 minutes together 5-on-5.

Now I could be stretching here, but if I were to hazard a guess about who Zaitsev was referring to in with statement, could he be referring to the guy he spent 1629 minutes with over the course of two seasons? The guy who effectively made him be a stay-at-home defender while he was effectively acting like a 4th forward (well technically Babcock made him but you get the point)? The same guy whose defensive play has made him a healthy scratch for the better part of this season?

I think it is fairly clear Zaitsev was talking about Jake Gardiner.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Zaytsev was talking about that in his interview after leaving the Leafs. Was fuming actually. He never called names, but it was crystal clear. Was angry with 'hero' Rielly pinching and scoring while 'peasants' had to block shots and got all the criticism.

Oh i missed that. No i in team. Yeah right.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

You do realize that Rielly and Zaitsev rarely played together after Zaitsev's first season. Between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, Zaitsev and Rielly played a total of 64 minutes together 5-on-5. Zaitsev played 2410 minutes away from Rielly, Rielly played 2732 minutes away from Zaitsev. They were paired together in their first season but that was stopped after the Leafs signed Hainsey. Zaitsev was also given a ton of offensive liberty in that first season and it was the major reason he received his contract extension in the first place.

Meanwhile, in that same 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 timeframe, Zaitsev and Gardiner played 1629 minutes together 5-on-5.

Now I could be stretching here, but if I were to hazard a guess about who Zaitsev was referring to in with statement, could he be referring to the guy he spent 1629 minutes with over the course of two seasons? The guy who effectively made him be a stay-at-home defender while he was effectively acting like a 4th forward (well technically Babcock made him but you get the point)? The same guy whose defensive play has made him a healthy scratch for the better part of this season?

I think it is fairly clear Zaitsev was talking about Jake Gardiner.

I think he was talking about you

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Playing all the big minutes on a offensively elite team would never have anything to do with them stats now would it. Defensively we know he’s not all that

It's goals differential. It accounts for defense too.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think he was talking about you

Haha very funny.

You know I am right.

 

[ICBM]

You do realize that Rielly and Zaitsev rarely played together after Zaitsev's first season. Between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, Zaitsev and Rielly played a total of 64 minutes together 5-on-5. Zaitsev played 2410 minutes away from Rielly, Rielly played 2732 minutes away from Zaitsev. They were paired together in their first season but that was stopped after the Leafs signed Hainsey. Zaitsev was also given a ton of offensive liberty in that first season and it was the major reason he received his contract extension in the first place.

Meanwhile, in that same 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 timeframe, Zaitsev and Gardiner played 1629 minutes together 5-on-5.

Now I could be stretching here, but if I were to hazard a guess about who Zaitsev was referring to in with statement, could he be referring to the guy he spent 1629 minutes with over the course of two seasons? The guy who effectively made him be a stay-at-home defender while he was effectively acting like a 4th forward (well technically Babcock made him but you get the point)? The same guy whose defensive play has made him a healthy scratch for the better part of this season?

I think it is fairly clear Zaitsev was talking about Jake Gardiner.

What a pile of nonsense. Gardiner?! Gardiner was ever glorified in Toronto? Zaytsev was talking about 'folk hero' Rielly, not Jake Gardiner.

You waste too much effort praising Rielly's glory...

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Haha very funny.

You know I am right.

Actually I don’t even remember the circumstance. Seems vague so i joked is all

 

[SeaOfBlue]

What a pile of nonsense. Gardiner?! Gardiner was ever glorified in Toronto? Zaytsev was talking about 'folk hero' Rielly, not Jake Gardiner.

You waste too much effort praising Rielly's glory...

There were people praising him as a top pairing defenseman at one point, so yes?

You are talking about speculative evidence at best and even that speculation is flimsy for the exact reason I pointed out: He rarely played with Rielly. Why would he complain about covering Rielly's ass when he rarely played with Rielly in the first place? Hainsey never complained. Maybe because he was a veteran or maybe because he had some of the best seasons of his career with Rielly despite being in his late 30's?

I know the exact thing Zaitsev is talking about. Media constantly criticized him for being a bad defender even though he had to effectively be two defensemen because Gardiner was rarely ever in position and constantly made stupid mistakes... And he made a lot of excellent defensive plays. Meanwhile, he was also rarely ever able to move the puck or do anything offensively because it always had to go through Gardiner. He got a raw deal in Toronto, and I pointed that out 2-3 years ago to fans not much unlike you. Similar thing happened, but to a lesser degree, with Ceci last year. Brodie does not have a raw deal here. He gets to play in the exact role that allowed him to earn his 20 million dollar contract in the first place. It took them 20-25 games to figure each other out but they have been consistently stellar together the past 20 games.

Rielly's glory speaks for itself. What dumbfounds me is there are Leafs fans who supposedly have watched Gardiner play for us for 7 years, and then Barrie for another year, and then describe Rielly the same way based on their eye-test. Pretty much just tells me their eye-tests are unreliable.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Actually I don’t even remember the circumstance. Seems vague so i joked is all

Fair enough. You can read the chain if you care.

 

[hotpaws]

Elite PK from 44

1) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released

2) Turn and throw useless crosscheck to non-threat

3) Allow threat to walk in, wind up, commit to block and slide out of way as shot is released

since when is it the D's responsibility to cover the points on the pk ?

i have no idea how anyone can look at this clip and believe it was Rielly who f***ed up when it's easy to see that it was one of the forwards who should have pressured the guy coming in from the top

 

[ToneDog]

If Torts is let go in Columbus and Laine is not moved, I wonder if Jarmo would give up Jones + Jenner for Nylander (the C) and Rielly ? Some would argue that is not enough but you get your true #1 shutdown dman (who Leafs won't find soon enough) and your core is set for the next 5 years.

 

[Gallagbi]

Except that every sentence here is wrong.

Yes, Brodie is having the best statistical season of his career with Rielly at 56.8xgf%, far surpassing anything he did with Giordano. Brodie has had the luxury of playing with elite puckmovers like gio and rielly in his career - and his years where he was forced to be the puckmover when paired with guys like Hamonic it was disastrous.

And yes, Rielly is also having the best statistical year of his career, now that for the first time in his career he has a legitimate top pair dman to play with, instead of barely top 4 guys like hainsey and the corpse of phaneuf, or #6 guys like ceci and zaitsev. This is no surprise - brodie is a much better dman than those other scrubs rielly had been forced to carry.

Rielly is an elite of elite puckmover, both in skating the puck and passing the puck, both out of danger and into the attack. That also happens to be the most valuable and the most difficult skill a dman can have.

As for your tiny muzzin-brodie sample....muzzin-rielly has even better xgf and xga than that pairing does, in a sliggtly bigger sample. Not that any of those samples matter of course.

How much do you think the forwards play into Brodie's improved stats vs. Rielly?

In Toronto he gets a lot of ice with our top 6 5v5 and that's better than anything Calgary has or had to offer

 

[Gallagbi]

since when is it the D's responsibility to cover the points on the pk ?

i have no idea how anyone can look at this clip and believe it was Rielly who f***ed up when it's easy to see that it was one of the forwards who should have pressured the guy coming in from the top

Marner gets lost and behind with the puck movement, Rielly is in bad position and leaves the shooting lane. One mistake doesn't excuse the other. Rielly is left covering nobody, but providing a decent little screen on our goalie (who also misplays it) only to slide out of the danger zone for no reason.

 

[hotpaws]

Marner gets lost and behind with the puck movement, Rielly is in bad position and leaves the shooting lane. One mistake doesn't excuse the other. Rielly is left covering nobody, but providing a decent little screen on our goalie (who also misplays it) only to slide out of the danger zone for no reason.

Marner pressured the puck on the side wall but and rotated back but a little deep which caused Kerfoot to leave his point (the eventual goal score) to cover Marners side while Marner was also going to the same man

if Rielly came out hard the point would have passed down low to a wide open man , he was left to cover 2 men because the forwards screwed up so i have idea how the poster picked him out to blame while not only ignoring the forwards but also the goalie who was too deep in his net

 

[Gallagbi]

Marner pressured the puck on the side wall but and rotated back but a little deep which caused Kerfoot to leave his point (the eventual goal score) to cover Marners side while Marner was also going to the same man

if Rielly came out hard the point would have passed down low to a wide open man , he was left to cover 2 men because the forwards screwed up so i have idea how the poster picked him out to blame while not only ignoring the forwards but also the goalie who was too deep in his net

What low man do you think Mo is covering? The one that screens and Brodie takes?

Edit to expand: Mo does come out to the point, which is the right play. It's not a matter of charging, it's a matter of lanes. He needs to take a better angle and be aware of his surroundings, but he isn't. He slides out of the shooting lane leaving the entire Habs team behind him. The only thing he does it create open space for Suzuki to shoot and screen Campbell

 

[hotpaws]

What low man do you think Mo is covering? The one that screens and Brodie takes?

Edit to expand: Mo does come out to the point, which is the right play. It's not a matter of charging, it's a matter of lanes. He needs to take a better angle and be aware of his surroundings, but he isn't. He slides out of the shooting lane leaving the entire Habs team behind him. The only thing he does it create open space for Suzuki to shoot and screen Campbell

Mo took the right right path but was moving and slid out as you said and Campbell wasn't screened , he just was too deep and got beat

also it was the forwards who were most to blame so if someone wants to single someone out it should be them then the goalie who would have been ripped if it was Andy

 

[Gallagbi]

Mo took the right right path but was moving and slid out as you said and Campbell wasn't screened , he just was too deep and got beat

also it was the forwards who were most to blame so if someone wants to single someone out it should be them then the goalie who would have been ripped if it was Andy

The right angle doesn't take him out of the shooting lane, the right angle keeps him there and closing on the shooter. He takes a bad route, starts infront of Campbell (screen) and pulls out of the shooting lane.

"Most to blame" is tough, it's a relatively easy play Mo botches. We see it often with our PP and a defender closing on Marner to take away the lane or force a shot wide. Ideally Mo doesn't need to make a play, but SH that's going to happen.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Marner pressured the puck on the side wall but and rotated back but a little deep which caused Kerfoot to leave his point (the eventual goal score) to cover Marners side while Marner was also going to the same man

if Rielly came out hard the point would have passed down low to a wide open man , he was left to cover 2 men because the forwards screwed up so i have idea how the poster picked him out to blame while not only ignoring the forwards but also the goalie who was too deep in his net

Block da shot like a normal Dman with balls does .. you don't go race out there to point and then turn away like a girl ... man up or stay in dressing room

 

[BlueForever75]

Marner is more to blame for the PP woes and giveaways then Reilly. You take the good with the bad when it comes with Marner. But to place blame on Reilly is utterly stupid. Yes he's on the PP, but lets remember he doesnt run it, Marner does. If Marner shoots more often the PP will be that more successful.

Understand that when you have the like of Matthews, Tavares, Nylander and Marner on the PP. They are your primary options and no PP should struggle to the degree that Toronto has regardless of Reilly.

He's being made the scapegoat for the teams struggles in that area. And it is not fair.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

What low man do you think Mo is covering? The one that screens and Brodie takes?

Edit to expand: Mo does come out to the point, which is the right play. It's not a matter of charging, it's a matter of lanes. He needs to take a better angle and be aware of his surroundings, but he isn't. He slides out of the shooting lane leaving the entire Habs team behind him. The only thing he does it create open space for Suzuki to shoot and screen Campbell

Call a spade a spade ... as a dman when you do that you block da shot every time ... you don't get scared and bail and screen your tender ... it is a chicken sh*t play done by p*ssies

 

[hotpaws]

Block da shot like a normal Dman with balls does .. you don't go race out there to point and then turn away like a girl ... man up or stay in dressing room

Kerfoot should have dived at da shooter face first like a real man , instead he pretended he couldn't get their in time like a weak bitch .

 

[Gallagbi]

Marner is more to blame for the PP woes and giveaways then Reilly. You take the good with the bad when it comes with Marner. But to place blame on Reilly is utterly stupid. Yes he's on the PP, but lets remember he doesnt run it, Marner does. If Marner shoots more often the PP will be that more successful.

Understand that when you have the like of Matthews, Tavares, Nylander and Marner on the PP. They are your primary options and no PP should struggle to the degree that Toronto has regardless of Reilly.

He's being made the scapegoat for the teams struggles in that area. And it is not fair.

It's interesting they're both sharing blame on this PK goal, but also struggling on the PP.

Rielly is hurting the PP because he's useless bringing up the puck and not a threat for anything at the point currently, but I blame more of the PP on Marner and him trying to be a shooter.

 

[56 Years No Cup]

I really hope Dubas explores trading Rielly this off season. I really don't see what some posters keep suggesting that he's been great. He's been declining ever since he had his breakout year.

Offensively he doesn't do anything. He skates fast and that's about it. He lacks serious iq, decision making, and skill. Can't hit the net, tries to force countless plays which results in massive turnovers, is constantly pinching in without any care if he has anyone covering him. On the powerplay he's just absolutely useless.

Defensively he's probably our worst defenseman. Can't win a board battle, tries to be cute with the puck, horrible coverage, and instead of making a smart play, he's constantly looking for a home run play which again results in turnovers.

Dubas has to make a tough decision but the right decision would be moving on from Rielly and getting someone who fits this team better and for the love of God, someone who can take a shot.

Gardiner Part Deux.