"I feel good despite numbers": $60M Toronto Maple Leafs D-man makes feelings known about his lack of production this season

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has shared his thoughts on his low offensive production this season. Rielly has been a strong offensive defenseman in past years. He scored his career-high 20 goals and 72 points in 2018-19, 68 points in 2021-22 and 58 points last season.

This season, however, he has just 22 points (5 goals, 17 assists) in 51 games. His plus-minus rating has also dropped to minus-18.

NHL insider Terry Koshan posted Rielly’s comments about his performance on X.

"Trying to keep everything in check. I feel good despite numbers and whatnot. So it’s a battle right now, just trying to compete and play the best I can … we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform and I’m no different," Rielly said.

Rielly signed an eight-year, $60 million contract in October 2021. His deal carries a $7.5 million cap hit per season. Coach Craig Berube has also shown his faith in Rielly, he said,

"Can Morgan play better? Yes he can. We all know that. He knows that. He's trying to work through it right now. It's a team game. It's not all on Morgan."

Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled recently. They have lost six of their last nine games. In their current three-game losing streak, they have been outscored 10-3. Despite having a strong offensive core, they have managed just one goal per game in that stretch. They now have a 30-19-2 record and sit second in the Atlantic Division.

Rielly and the Leafs will look to bounce back as the season continues. They will play their next game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Toronto Maple Leafs lost their third straight game to Wild

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. It was their third straight loss and Rielly failed to score despite receiving 23:31 minutes of ice time.

Marat Khusnutdinov scored the first goal at 7:07 of the first period. He one-timed a pass from Jakub Lauko after a puck battle with Morgan Rielly. Jared Spurgeon made it 2-0 at 15:35 on the power play when his shot deflected off Auston Matthews.

William Nylander scored at 8:16 of the third period. He redirected a pass from Pontus Holmberg past Filip Gustavsson. The Leafs pressed for a tying goal, but Gustavsson stopped Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s shot at 12:30. Marcus Foligno scored an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left.

Toronto Maple Leafs have scored one goal or less in five of their past eight games.