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Move to right side should suit Morgan Rielly just fine
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- Move to right side should suit Morgan Rielly just fine
It's probably fair to say the topic of defenceman handedness is discussed more often in Toronto than any other market.
That's due to a combination of everything "Maple Leafs" being put under a microscope, and the fact that Mike Babcock is particularly interested in having his blueliners play on their natural sides.
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When the club first traded for Jake Muzzin there was an element of surprise because of how long everyone assumed any addition to the Maple Leafs' defence corps would be right-handed. Another wrinkle was added to that storyline when it was revealed Thursday that Muzzin would play the left side, shifting Morgan Rielly to the right.
On the surface, it would seem like an odd move to disrupt Rielly in the midst of a year where he's going to set career highs in literally everything. The rationale given by Babcock was that he wanted to do whatever he could to accommodate the new guy, but Muzzin is in Toronto to help put Rielly in a position to succeed, not the other way around.
Morgan Rielly is dangerous on his off wing. (Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
There is a method to this supposed madness, though. In theory, moving Rielly to the right could hurt his production, but in practice the right side of the ice is where he does most of his damage. His goal chart this season shows he's most dangerous on his off wing:
Via IcyHot Data
This is a relatively new development. For reference, here's where Rielly scored from the last two seasons when he did the majority of his scoring from distance:
(Via IcyHot Data)
Because he lacks a heavy slap shot, Rielly has made things happen this year by being opportunistic on the rush. It's a strategy that's worked incredibly well as the 24-year-old leads all defenders in goals despite not scoring since Dec. 23. His shooting percentage of 10.2 is way above his career average, and although it's not necessarily sustainable it is a reflection of him creating opportunities for himself in more dangerous areas.
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He's scored his 13 goals in a few different ways, but the most common method sees Rielly trailing on the right side, like he did against the Red Wings here:
Via NHL.tv
In the same game he did something similar with a slightly different look by gliding in and ending up ahead of the play as it develops:
Via NHL.tv
Rielly can also score this way while the Maple Leafs possess the puck in the zone — as he does in the clip below when the Blues collapse down to the net and give him too much room to operate:
Via NHL.tv
Because Rielly's not really known for his shot — he'd never scored double-digit goals until this season — the Maple Leafs haven't had reason to wonder what they can do to put him in the best position to score.
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This season, largely through his aggressiveness, he has made himself the top scoring defenceman in the league and demonstrated some deadly accuracy on his wrister — and that wrister is certainly more dangerous coming from his weak side.
Rielly's move to the right-side is unlikely to be permanent and will undoubtedly hurt some aspects of his game, as it would for any lefty defender. However, it might just help him score a couple more goals — which is a bigger component of his value than ever.
Bringing Muzzin aboard was an imperfect upgrade for the Maple Leafs, exclusively by virtue of his handedness. Although the defence corps it creates is far from Babcock's platonic ideal, there might be a small silver lining if it helps Rielly break out of his scoring slump.
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