Morgan Rielly’s injury severely curtails the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes

Defenseman Morgan Rielly’s injury comes at the worst possible time for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their spring playoff hopes.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are fighting for their playoff lives, and now have lost their best defenseman available due to injury. On Monday, the Maple Leafs announced that 25-year-old Morgan Rielly will be sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks with a fractured foot, an injury that will put the blueliner on injured reserve for two months.

Rielly sustained the injury during the Maple Leafs’ Sunday game against the Florida Panthers, though no specific moment appeared to have caused the injury as the defenseman played just over 21 minutes in the 8-4 loss.

The Maple Leafs recalled 19-year-old Rasmus Sandin from the AHL on Monday in anticipation of the announcement, though the young defender has only six NHL games played in his career and will not be relied upon to replace Rielly’s spot in the lineup.

The news is a major blow to the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes this season. Rielly has been relied upon as Toronto’s best defenseman, playing an average of 24 minutes a night — the most of Maple Leafs’ skaters this season — on an already thin blue line. Rielly’s underlying metrics have been solid, as his 51.60 CF% at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, are the best possession numbers he’s posted in his career.

Offensively, Rielly was not going to surpass his career high of 20 goals and 72 total points set last season, but his 27 points in 46 games this year led all Maple Leafs’ defensemen. Though his drop off between seasons has been seen as a disappointment, Rielly has been an integral part of the Maple Leafs’ defense despite his offensive struggles.

Rielly’s injury now means the Maple Leafs have a much harder road to the postseason than they had a day ago. Defenseman Jake Muzzin was already injured heading into January, as his lower-body injury has been keeping the defenseman out week-to-week with no clear timetable for return.

The loss of Rielly turns the keys over to players such as Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci and Justin Holl to keep pace and pick up the slack for the next few months, at least. With Rielly being out a minimum of eight weeks, and reevaluation to come afterwards, the Maple Leafs will be without a top defenseman up until nearly the start of the playoffs.

As for the playoffs themselves, the Maple Leafs are no where near a lock in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is third in the Atlantic Division with a 24-16-6 record, but the Florida Panthers are just one point behind them in the wild card. The Maple Leafs are in real danger of slipping out of the top three in the Atlantic, putting them in a fight for their postseason lives should they slip into wild card contention.

There is just under half of a season to go for Toronto, with a lot more hockey to play. The upcoming trade deadline is also in play for the Maple Leafs, meaning Toronto can snag a rental in the coming weeks to bolster their lineup in the short-term with the injuries they’ve sustained to their defense.

However, the Maple Leafs’ playoff road is much tougher now with the injury to Rielly and a competitive Atlantic Division hot on Toronto’s heels. General manager Kyle Dubas will have his work cut out for him in the next few weeks to patch up the Maple Leafs’ defense as the team continues to roll towards a hopeful playoff berth.

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