"Solid regular partner for Morgan Rielly": Dave Feschuk bluntly calls for return of $8,250,000 ex-Maple Leafs D-man

Morgan Rielly has had a difficult 2024-25 season. The Maple Leafs' number-one defenseman has taken some heat for both his production and overall play.

Rielly is on pace for 42 points, his lowest full-season pace in a season since 2016-17. He's also a -13 rating which has drawn the ire of many fans and analysts. Philippe Myers (-7) is the only other Maple Leafs defenseman who has a negative plus-minus on the year.

Chris Tanev was brought in during the offseason, expected to be the perfect partner for Rielly. Unfortunately, that pairing hasn't worked, as Jake McCabe and Tanev have turned into the team's shutdown duo. This has fans wondering, who is going to be Morgan Rielly's D-partner?

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star appeared on TSN's "First Up" on Wednesday, pleading for the Leafs to bring back one of Rielly's former partners.

"I'm a big, big supporter of the idea of Luke Schenn coming back to Toronto," Feschuk said. "I thought he added a lot to this team. We know how solid he was as a regular partner for Morgan Rielly on the right side, but we also know how good a guy he is known to be in the dressing room, and I really felt like he was a big factor in them actually getting over the hump against Tampa, not only because he played really well on the ice, but because he loosened that room, you know, he got them going out to dinner on the road, which they hadn't been doing before he got there, as a team. He understands what it's like to be a pro, what it's like to build a team." [4:10]

Luke Schenn is in the second season of a three-year, $8,250,000 contract with the Nashville Predators. He's registered five points (one goal, four assists) in 57 games in 2024-25. Schenn's name has come up in the rumor mill in recent days, making a potential Toronto reunion an intriguing proposition.

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Morgan Rielly had a huge performance in Boston on Tuesday night

Despite all the struggles and criticism, Morgan Rielly stepped up in a big way to help the Maple Leafs comeback to beat the Bruins 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old racked up four points (one goal, three assists) and was a +3 rating while playing 27:42 of ice time. The Leafs were down 3-0 late in the second period and Rielly scored, igniting the comeback. It was a vintage Morgan Rielly performance, one that Toronto hopes to see more of down the stretch.

He's now up to 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 58 games on the season. Those stats are somewhat low for his standards, though not being on the number one power play unit is a big reason for the dip in production.

Rielly and the Maple Leafs travel to the Big Apple for a Friday night matchup with the New York Rangers. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden.