rielly has cement hands with no offensive skill other than his wrist shot...

Or just trade him for a LW

He. Is. A. Defenceman.

Lol he has offensive skill

other than his wrist shot ? nah

Rielly doesn’t have offensive skill that will translate to playing the wing.

Majority of the players that have tried it played forward at some point in their lives growing up.

Rielly never has (at least since he's been a teen).

It's a completely different position, it wouldn't work, and it's why 99.9% of players don't play dual positions (F & D).

Very available option, lets assume we cant make any big trades before the season though.

For what he is he absolutly could fetch a very solid left winger, but from which team and which player is not something anyone on this website would be able to agree on from the 50 rielly trades ive seen.

Would he be a worse option the Ritchie Soup Kerfoot Bunting or Robertson? I dont think so, no small amount of leafs fans think sandin is close enough and just needs the experience, so he gets it and its revealed he cant hang rielly just slots back into the position. Its lower risk than trading him. IMO

Very very fair thats a very good reason as to why it wouldnt work.

Could you do me a favour and elaborate on this here, im not sure i fully understand?

What skills do wingers need to have that he doesnt have? (not trying to sound hostile here just genuinly do not know)

There are positional transitions in high caliber hockey that are, I can't say common, but easier. Center to wing. Left wing to right wing (and vice versa). I've seen a few defense to centers. Rarely a wing to center. Forward to defense has been done, but is also rare. And usually would be a Center to defenseman. Defenseman to wing is also rare. The positions are just so different from each other. So although a defenseman may seem like they can only contribute offensively, that is still their best spot. A good coach will pair them with a defensive dman or a very strong two way dman to allow their offensive talents to shine.

Think of someone like Karlsson when he was good. He was typically paired with someone like Phillips or Methot.

Morgan Rielly has played his best hockey with Ron Hainsey and now with Brodie. Don't change it.

I really enjoy this look at it very fair points all around.

Thanks. I am expecting a call anytime here from Dubas to be the next head coach.

He’s one of the best transition and offensive play driving defenceman in the league. He jumps in the play a lot and creates chances, has great vision, and his wrister you mentioned.

his stats are padded because he plays with matthews or tavares full time. he isnt that good

My two cents.

Have you ever played pick-up hockey?

Sometimes you play with or against a decent player who can regularly beat 2 or 3 guys with speed or decent puck handling and then they get in alone with the goalie and they hit them in the chest every time.

You can just tell that even though they definitely played a decent level of hockey, they obviously played D most of their life because they have no finish.

Rielly gets about 10 or so great chances per year and finishes on a 1 or 2 at most. He's not a finisher (most Dmen aren't).

A step further, in the O-zone Rielly is used to getting the puck at the point and having a second or two to decide where to put the puck and 19 times out of 20 he'll likely make the safe play and go point to point or just toss it down the boards.

It's a completely different world to go get and make a smart play with the puck from the corner.

Watch him when he gets in deeper with the puck, majority of the time he chucks it to the net (safer play than a turnover). Dmen rarely have the patience to find an open man when pressured because that's not their game (in the o-zone).

Those split second hesitations that would happen is big enough to make it near impossible to make this type of position change.

you want offensive skills. look at chabot, makar.. rielly is a very simple dmen .. sure he skates well and can shoot the puck sometimes but he isnt a real top 2

He's likely a touch overrated overall due to some pretty glaring defensive deficiencies, but he's definitely a great offensive dman.

Hmmm Thank you for taking the time to write that for me, it has very much assisted my evaluation of this situation. I can see quite clearly what you mean.

He plays with them for a reason lol, and puts up pretty good results with them. It’s not like he’s sheltered either, he plays against the best of the best of other teams.