Ex-NHL Defenseman Gives Craig Berube an Ultimatum About Morgan Rielly
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is at his wit's end when it comes to Mogan Rielly, and there are some analysts who think the defenseman should be benched.
Morgan Rielly has a net rating of -18 this season and for the most part, he has been absolutely dreadful.
His offense has also taken a huge backseat and there are fears that this is part of an overall decline that he ultimately will not get back.
Jason Demers weighs in on Morgan Rielly
This season, Rielly has become the media's whipping boy, however, the play says that it is definitely deserved.
During an appearance on The Leafs Nation, former NHL defenseman Jason Demers had some very interesting comments about Craig Berube and Rielly.
Essentially, Demers believes it is time for Berube to bench the defenseman.
I think what it shows is they need another top-four defenseman....I don't know where you get it right now, maybe a Rasmus Ristolainen if you can make the money work, but I don't know if you can make the money work, but you need somebody that's going to help Morgan Rielly defensively because that's been his biggest struggle.
It depends on his character and whether can he handle that, and that's a conversation you have to have between him [Rielly] and Craig Berube, and if Berube sits him down and says "Hey, you have not been playing good enough, here's why I think you need to rest in a mental reset, and then come back because we need you for the playoffs and maybe frame it that way
Demers also suggests that the team find a new defenseman to pair Rielly with. However, that seems like an idea that has been tried before.
Rielly has had numerous pairings over the course of his career and many of them did not work.
At some point, one has to ask whether or not Rielly is the true problem in all of this.
It is an uncomfortable question, but it is not unfair given how the defenseman has been having one of the worst seasons of his career.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 31 | 197 ANSWERS Ex-NHL Defenseman Gives Craig Berube an Ultimatum About Morgan Rielly Should the Toronto Maple Leafs bench Morgan Rielly? | ||
| YES | 101 | 51.3 % |
| NO | 96 | 48.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
