Morgan Rielly Takes a Licking from Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Amid Shaky Stretch
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has taken lots of criticism over the past couple of years, and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
Last night was not a good one for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they lost to the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-3 in what was a bad game all around.
The Leafs were not able to get much momentum going throughout the game, and a lot of it had to do with big defensive errors and bad goaltending.
Brandon Carlo and Morgan Rielly struggled throughout the game, with Carlo, in particular, getting a lot of the blame from fans online.
Although some feel as though it is Rielly who deserves the brunt of this, especially since he should know better at this point.
Is Morgan Rielly or Brandon Carlo worse?
As one fan pointed out on X, the defenseman just has awful defensive IQ right now, and this is something he is going to have to fix.
Lots of negativity surrounding Brandon Carlo today, when the issue is really Morgan Rielly. The Leafs have brought in nearly 10 people to play with Mo, Chris Tanev included and all but Ron Hainsey have been better away from him. The issue is Mo and his awful defensive hockey IQ.
Rielly has 12 points in 14 games this season, which is a huge improvement over the 2024-25 campaign. However, his defensive play has not been good.
The Maple Leafs need their assistant captain to be the best defenseman on the ice and to lead by example. If he cannot do that, then this team is, in many respects, doomed to fail.
Only time will tell whether or not the team's defense can get things together here over the coming days and weeks.
If they can't, then this team is going to keep losing games, and fast.
TRENDING NOW
