Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller believes defenseman Morgan Rielly can bounce back after a disappointing campaign and an offseason of trade rumors.
"I haven't been here. I do understand the narrative that, you know, people got down on Morgan," Hiller told reporters Monday. "I don't see it. I'm giving him a clean slate, and I'm glad he's excited to play. I expect just a great year. I know for years he was looked upon favorably by everybody. So, sometimes things turn, and they swing maybe a little too far one way or the other, and it might not be the exact truth."
Rielly tallied 11 goals and 36 points with a minus-18 rating in 78 games last season, marking his lowest scoring rate and worst plus/minus since the 2016-17 campaign. The Maple Leafs also tumbled down the standings to miss the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons.
"I just love this team and my teammates," said Rielly, who can become the sixth player to reach 1,000 games in franchise history this season.
"Whatever the downs are, the challenges, I think the opportunity and the ups outweigh them greatly. I feel very fortunate to have been a Maple Leaf, and I want to continue that for as long as I can. On that line, there's an element of my performance and my game has to try to hold up that end of the bargain, on the results side. Hopefully, both those things can happen."
Hiller paired Rielly with newcomer Darren Raddysh during Monday's practice, noting that the duo could get more offensive opportunities when deployed together.
"We think they can be a good pair," Hiller said. "Try to maybe spot them a little more in the O zone if we can, and give them maybe more minutes with our top-six forwards. Not that they can't get D-zone minutes and defend the other teams' top lines, but we think maybe we can get them out with our top six and maybe give us an advantage."
