Morgan Rielly's never-ending struggles inspire changes to the Maple Leafs blueline
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has struggled throughout the season, and it has affected guys like Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev.
Morgan Rielly has not been the best on the defensive end of the puck so far this season as he is currently a -8 and his been underwhelming when paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Morgan Rielly's issues inspire big Toronto Maple Leafs d-pairing changes
Fans were more willing to give Rielly a pass during the early stages of the season, however, these days, they are starting to get a lot more impatient.
In fact, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was feeling impatient on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres, and it led to some major changes on the blueline.
Typically, Rielly and OEL are together. Meanwhile, Chris Tanev plays with Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit plays with Philippe Myers.
However, at the end of Sunday's game, the pairings were Ekman-Larsson with Tanev, Rielly with Myers, and Benoit with McCabe.
These pairings worked out much better than the original ones, and it would be no surprise if these are the pairings that Berube goes with on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars.
Overall, something needs to be done to kickstart Morgan Rielly so that he can play at an elite level again.
Although his offensive output has been alright, he could be a lot better defensively.
Perhaps the Leafs need to seek out an elite defenseman who can be their true number one because as of right now, Rielly is just not that guy.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 17 | 246 ANSWERS Morgan Rielly's never-ending struggles inspire changes to the Maple Leafs blueline Do you believe Morgan Rielly will get it together for the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| YES | 173 | 70.3 % |
| NO | 73 | 29.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
