Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly has toiled in 312 NHL games by the tender age of 23 and now is the time for him to show just where he fits.Chris O'Meara/The Associated Press
If hockey's conventional wisdom is to be believed, then we are entering the prime of Mr. Morgan Rielly.
Experts around the NHL, from Denis Potvin to John Tortorella, who both have the requisite trophies to prove their scholarship, will tell you it takes at least 300 NHL games before a young defenceman really learns his trade. Then the rest of us can set about deciding just where his star fits in the NHL firmament. Is he a Hall of Famer or a plugger or something in between?
Stardom was predicted for Rielly in 2012 when the Maple Leafs took him fifth overall in the NHL entry draft. By last season, Rielly's fourth after making the Leafs at the age of 18, forecasts of his future devolved to arguments about whether he was a true No. 1 defenceman or a decent second-pair guy.
Considering what happened over the years to teenaged defencemen rushed along by the Leafs – the last being Luke Schenn in 2008, now a third-pair man with the Arizona Coyotes – the first- or second-pair argument is a big step forward.
Then again, the current regime down at Bay and Lakeshore Streets seems to know what it is doing. The old Leafs habit of pounding a square peg into a round hole – remember Dion Phaneuf? – has been resisted in Rielly's case. He and former partner Nikita Zaitsev were given time as the top pair last season, but by mid-March, it wasn't working, and Jake Gardiner supplanted Rielly on the No. 1 pair.
By the end of the playoff series against the Washington Capitals, though, Rielly was easily the Leafs' best defenceman. The caveat is that he was still on the No. 2 pair and did not play against the Capitals' best line much.
So here we are at the 2017-18 season. Rielly has toiled in 312 NHL games by the tender age of 23 and now is the time for him to show just where he fits.
"Yeah, I've heard that," Rielly said of the 300-game aphorism. "For sure, it's one of those things where people would tell me that after I only played 100 games, and people would tell me that after I played 200 games. At that time, you want to be the best you can be right then.
"It applies again here. I want to be the best I can be this year. I'm trying to be the best player possible. It's always the same mentality. You're always trying to get better."
Through the entire conversation, Rielly only spoke in terms of being the best he can be. Not the best defenceman who ever played. No doubt he has already had enough of the social-media whinging about why he isn't Drew Doughty already.
Such is life in a large, noisy market that can't grasp there are only four or five Doughtys or Erik Karlssons to go around. Just because Rielly probably won't be as prolific or flashy as Karlsson, who took Tuesday night off while his Ottawa Senators teammates played the Leafs in a preseason game, there is nothing wrong with becoming a dependable first-pair defenceman who can still make an all-star game or three.
Rielly acknowledged the expectations not only for this season but probably last season, too. He also admitted being caught up in the idea of a breakout season a year ago, until injuries got in the way.
"That thought happens a lot, for sure," he said. "This time last year, I wanted to do that, but things happen. It's not always that easy. This year for sure, I want to get out there and be the best player I can be."
Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock want that as well, obviously. To that end, veteran Ron Hainsey, fresh off his first Stanley Cup win after 907 games over 14 seasons, was signed away from the Pittsburgh Penguins to play with Rielly. The idea is that Hainsey, along with playing his off side as the right defenceman, will take care of most of the defensive responsibilities to let Rielly, also a left-hand shot, play on his natural left side and produce more offensively.
"He's a great skater, got great smarts," Hainsey said of his new partner. "He's probably just scratching the surface of his offensive ability."
That certainly was true last season. Rielly managed six goals and 21 assists, his lowest output since his rookie season. But there was growth in other areas, such as leadership.
It is plain the Leafs' cadre of youngsters like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner look up to Rielly, who has a bearing that belies his age. The captain's chair may be vacant, held for such time as the budding superstar Matthews is judged ready for it, but look for Rielly to be a constant in a shifting cast of alternate captains.
"I feel like I want to be ready for the start of the season, have a great year and take that next step and the step beyond that, too," Rielly said. "You want to keep moving forward to be the best you can be."