Morgan Rielly is primed to start with a top assignment. Ozoon’s David Alter explains why that is the right decision.
Jim Hiller did not spend much time at training camp re-litigating last season. The Toronto Maple Leafs put Morgan Rielly on the ice with Darren Raddysh and treated the pairing like what it is at this stage of camp: a starting point, not a finished product.
That is the right move, for now.
Rielly arrived at camp carrying the residue of a difficult 2025-26. The Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The blue line was a mess of injuries, mismatched partners and declining results. Rielly, still the longest-tenured player on the roster and 49 games from 1,000 as a Maple Leaf, became a lightning rod. Trade talk followed him through the summer. It never materialized. Hiller, who coached Rielly as an assistant during the defenseman’s 20-goal, 72-point season in 2018-19, has chosen not to treat the veteran as damaged goods.
“I understand the narrative that people got down on Morgan. I don’t see it. I’m giving him a clean slate,” Hiller said after practice. “I expect a great year. For years he was looked upon favourably by everybody. Sometimes things turn, and they swing maybe a little too far one way or the other, and it might not be the exact truth.”
Hiller met with Rielly in July. By Monday he saw a player who looked lighter, happier and ready. That matters. Confidence is not a talking point for a 32-year-old who has logged heavy minutes for a decade. It is a prerequisite. Pairing him with Raddysh is an attempt to restore it in the place Rielly can still hurt teams: with the puck, in the offensive zone, beside a right shot who just posted 22 goals and 70 points.
Raddysh is the clear No.1 the Leafs paid $8.5 million a year to acquire. He brings a one-timer the power play has lacked since Bryan McCabe. He also brings minutes and, last season in Tampa, respectable five-on-five results next to a sturdy partner. The Leafs are not asking him to become J.J. Moser. They are asking whether two attackers can tilt the ice if the rest of the roster does its job.
Hiller’s plan is not to throw them out for every defensive-zone draw against the other team’s top line. “We’ll try to maybe spot him a little more in the O-zone if we can and give them some more minutes with some of our top-six forwards,” he said. “It’s not that they can’t get D-zone minutes and defend the other team’s top line, but we think with our top six it can give us an advantage.”
That is the bet. Auston Matthews, William Nylander,John Tavares, Matthew Knies, Gavin McKenna and Jack Roslovic should create enough possession that an offensive pair can live in the other end. The shutdown work stays with Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev. That pairing is not being broken up. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the rest of the left-shot options fill out the group. The structure is designed so Rielly and Raddysh do not have to be something they are not.
Rielly wanted the look.
“I was hoping I might get a chance to do that,” he said of skating with Raddysh. “He’s a great player, has tons of great assets, and so hopefully we can work well together.”
On the defensive question that will follow them all year, he was honest:
“I don’t know, we’ll find out. We want to work well together. There’s an opportunity there for us to be great.”
There are obvious risks. Neither player is a shutdown specialist. An all-offense top pair can get hunted if the support evaporates.
Camp is for information. Hiller is collecting it. He knows Rielly. He knows what the player looked like when the supporting cast and usage were right. He also knows the roster is different now: a new cornerstone on the right side, a healthier Tanev if the body cooperates, and a coaching staff that is not starting from a place of grievance.
Giving Rielly a clean slate next to Raddysh does not mean the pair is locked in until April. It means the Leafs are not beginning the season by burying a veteran who still has the legs and the passing to help them score. It means they are trying to play to strengths instead of managing decline on day one.
If the pairing leaks goals and the expected-goals numbers turn ugly, Hiller can change it. McCabe can slide over. Tanev can take Rielly. Andrae or Stecher can get a look. That flexibility is the point of “for now.” Hiller is giving Rielly that chance. At this moment, that is the correct hockey decision.