Morgan Rielly gets chewed out by two prominent Maple Leafs podcasters amid horrid stretch

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Alexander Cole
December 22, 2024 (2:59 PM)

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has been awful as of late and this led to a passionate rant from the likes of JD Bunkis and Sam McKee of Leafs Talk.

Morgan Rielly has been mediocre this season as he is a -9 on the ice in 34 games played, and he only has 18 points which is well below what he is typically capable of getting.

Morgan Rielly has been less-than-stellar for the Maple Leafs

For the most part, the veteran defenseman has been able to get a pass for his poor play.

At times, Rielly is treated with kid gloves because of all that he has done in the past.

However, JD Bunkis and Sam McKee of "Leafs Talk" are not like everyone else. On Saturday night, after a Leafs loss to the New York Islanders, Bunkis hit Rielly with a harsh reality.

"You gotta start doing something, man. You gotta start doing something other than being a liability."

McKee was even harsher to Rielly, noting that the defenseman has never gotten any real criticism.

The only ones who are harsh on the assistant captain, are those very specific subset of fans who are critical of every little thing the Leafs do.

"He's entered, and rightfully so, he's entered the crosshairs of Leafs Nation here... he gets a pass here, too, like in this city. He has been getting a pass for a long time in terms of like a real referendum on his game. Like, there's a certain faction of Leafs Nation that really is hard on him, but I do think as sort of the 'number one defenseman' on this team, the highest paid defenseman on the team, and for some of his regular season stuff that he's had over the past few years, I don't think he gets it that bad. But, with the lack of a Timothy Liljegren, with a lack of a Justin Holl, with a lack of a Jake Gardiner -- being the highest paid on the D corps and having definitely the worst plus/minus... he's had issues before, he can dig out of them, we know the playoffs stuff, we know how good he can be in the playoffs, but this is not going away, this conversation."

One has to wonder if Rielly is playing hurt, or if there is something else that is currently affecting his game.

Whatever the case may be, he is going to have to figure it out soon as we are approaching the midway point of the NHL season.

Something has to give, and the Leafs need Rielly to be great if they want to win a Stanley Cup.

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DECEMBRE 22 \| 133 ANSWERS Morgan Rielly gets chewed out by two prominent Maple Leafs podcasters amid horrid stretch Do you believe Toronto Maple Leafs fans are giving Morgan Rielly a pass?
Yes	91	68.4 %
NO	42	31.6 %
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