‘Really disappointed in myself’: Leafs’ Rielly hoping to rebound after tough season

TORONTO — Morgan Rielly took a long look in the mirror over the summer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman entered last season’s training camp feeling good. Things then started well when the puck dropped. The numbers were there. Rielly thought he was in a good spot.

Something happened. He isn’t sure what exactly.

The club’s No. 1 defenceman — and his US$7.5-million salary cap hit through 2029-30 — scored just once in 40 games between Nov. 8 and Feb. 6 before going the final 24 contests of the regular-season schedule without finding the back of the net.

“My game dropped,” Rielly said in the sunshine Thursday outside Toronto’s practice facility. “I take a lot of pride in my career, and I was really disappointed in myself. That’s a hard thing to admit and hard thing to come to.”

The 31-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., who finished with seven goals and 34 assists for 41 points across 82 games, had a “real honest chat” with Leafs general manager Brad Treliving after the playoffs before having a string of heart-to-heart conversations.

“A lot of reflection,” Rielly said.

That discourse included wife Tessa Virtue, a three-time Olympic figure skating champion who’s keenly aware of high-pressure situations.

“Wonderful resource,” said Rielly, known to keep comments about his private life to a minimum. “And I leaned on it.”

In short, he wanted to do everything in his power to bounce back.

“It’s not just training hard in the summer,” said the blueliner, who put up 68 points in 2021-22 and another 58 in 2023-24. “For me, it’s going to be a big-picture thing. I took this off-season as the first step in being as dialed as I could be in every aspect.

“And really committing to that.”

Rielly’s teammates have noticed. Most of the group has been skating together since mid-August before training camp opened this week.

Leafs forward Nicolas Roy — acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the sign-and-trade deal that officially ended star winger Mitch Marner’s tenure in Toronto — said Rielly was “buzzing” during the informal sessions, while goaltender Anthony Stolarz was equally impressed.

“The biggest thing for him is going out there and playing freely,” said the netminder. “His talent, his mindset is just perfect for this market.”

“Looks unbelievable,” added centre Scott Laughton, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of last season’s trade deadline. “I love that guy … one of my favourite teammates I’ve ever played with.”

Rielly, who did have seven points in 13 playoff games before the Leafs were ousted by the Florida Panthers in the second round, didn’t venture far from his comfort zone preparing for what’s hoped will be a strong response in 2025-26.

“It was a more holistic commitment to everything,” he said. “Exploring new areas that I hadn’t or that I have before, but taking it to the next level, whether that’s diet or that’s mental preparation.

“I wanted to double down on myself and my career.”

Rielly and Virtue became parents when they welcomed son McCormick in July 2024. Fatherhood offered new perspective, but was also an adjustment.

“There’s an underlying part there that I think I struggled with last year a little bit, and it’s a work in progress,” Rielly said. “It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, but when people say it changes your perspective on everything, they don’t tell you how.

“Everyone feels it differently. I’m at a point now where I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

He wants to feel similarly about what happens on the ice.

“I just completely committed to doing everything I could,” Rielly said. “I tried to take it up to that next level.

“There’s no stone unturned.”

FIRST CRACK

Matias Maccelli got a first crack at Marner’s old spot on the right side of Toronto’s top line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Finn, who was acquired from the Utah Mammoth, had 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists) in 82 games in 2023-24 with Arizona.

“Focus on building some chemistry and keep going,” said Maccelli, who got the initial look with Max Domi nursing a lower-body injury.

DOTTED LINE

Stolarz’s agent and Treliving continue to negotiate a contract extension for the big netminder with unrestricted free agency looming next summer.

The 31-year-old would like to get a deal done before the 2025-26 campaign gets going.

“Our ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup,” Stolarz said. “Once the season starts, it’s all I want to focus on.”

The Edison, N.J., product, who put up a career-high .926 save percentage in his first Toronto campaign splitting crease time with Joseph Woll, is comfortable in hockey’s biggest media market.

“I’m just a laid-back guy,” Stolarz said. “I kind of look at it as I’m playing in the best men’s league in the world.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press