The Toronto Maple Leafs are finally doing right by Morgan Rielly

While many of the top contending teams in the NHL have put a strong emphasis on building a strong blueline, the Toronto Maple Leafs have often gone the budget or bargain bin route. This is at least partially because they had no other choice, having committed so much money to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.

Rielly, for what he has shown himself to be, is only capable of so much on his own. When you stop and look at it, it's actually pretty surprising to see some of the successful seasons that he has had under the circumstances. If you're not sure what I mean by that, just take a brief glimpse at some of the names Rielly has been paired with during his NHL career.

If you exclude the declining years of T.J. Brodie and the cup of coffee he had with Jake Muzzin, Rielly has never really had the opportunity to play with a legitimately dominant D partner. Until now.

The Leafs finally going out and trading for Chris Tanev's rights and subsequently signing him to a 6-year deal worth $4.5M per season has actually provided him with a high quality D partner -- something that Rielly must be excited for.

Rielly is not only a gentleman, but a true professional, so he wouldn't come out and publicly admit that he's frustrated with the quality of D partners he's received during the NHL career, but he must be grinning from ear to ear knowing that he and Tanev will have the opportunity to play together in 2024-25.

Tanev, like Brodie, is never going to dominate on the scoresheet, but he provides a stable body back there, who is effective in all 3 zones and possesses a solid transition game. Since Rielly did have his good stretches with Brodie, I'd imagine that playing with a better version of Brodie will lead to the best Morgan Rielly we've seen yet.

Obviously, until we see the pair together on the ice, this is all hypothetical, but I'd be inclined to believe that, as long as he and Tanev can stay healthy and find some chemistry early, Rielly could be in for a career year.