An Absurdly Bad Morgan Rielly Statistic Emerges, Causing Unrest Among Leafs Nation

In January, Morgan Rielly opened up about his down year, citing that he was pleased with his play despite what the numbers showed at the time. Since then, the former first-round pick has registered12 points in 18 games.

Unfortunately, his defensive play has continued to suffer, posting a plus/minus rating greater than 0 just three times. The thought this past off-season was that the signing of Chris Tanev was going to provide Rielly with a stable defensive partner, but given the success Tanev and Jake McCabe had early in the season, and continue to have, that plan never materialized for Rielly.

Ahead of the deadline, the Leafs once again tried to find a partner for the 31-year-old with a longer-term fix in mind, which is why they traded for Brandon Carlo.

Rielly has looked better defensively thanks to Carlo, but it hasn't stopped fans from attacking his horrendous -21 rating on the season. Not only is his plus/minus atrocious, but Rielly is the only player that has spent the entire season on a playoff team that is minus-20 or worse.

That may sound bizarre, but as pointed out by Justin Bourne, Rielly has been on the ice for 16 empty-net goals against.

The Leafs used to be a dominant team when they had the extra attacker, but it has become a sore spot this season. As Rielly and Carlo continue to get comfortable with each other, hopefully the Leafs will be able to reap the rewards come playoff time and Rielly returns to his old self.