{"id":36909,"date":"2018-10-20T12:02:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T16:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=36909"},"modified":"2018-10-20T12:02:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T16:02:02","slug":"mike-reilly-answer-canadiens-biggest-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/10\/20\/mike-reilly-answer-canadiens-biggest-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Reilly Proving to be the Answer to the Montreal Canadiens Biggest Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entering the 2018-19 season, the biggest question the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> had was who was going to play with Shea Weber<\/a><\/strong>? Although Weber is out until mid-December, the Canadiens were still in the market for a puck-moving\u00a0defenceman to compliment the Habs Captain. Last season it was Victor Mete<\/a><\/strong> who cracked the Habs roster out of camp and earned the privilege. This season, however, there has been another player who looks like he could be the perfect\u00a0partner for Weber. His name is Mike Reilly<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Habs Biggest Question<\/h1>\n

The Canadiens had two big questions entering the off-season. Who was going to play centre, and who was going to pair with Shea Weber on the Habs top unit? The first question was answered leading up to and at the draft. First, the Habs acquired Max Domi<\/a><\/strong> for Alex Galchenyuk<\/a><\/strong>, then drafted Jesperi Kotkaniemi<\/strong> with the third overall pick.<\/p>\n

The latter was still up in the air. The Habs offered Simon Despres<\/a><\/strong> a PTO as well as signed Xavier Ouellet<\/strong>\u00a0but they never went out to make a significant splash to find Weber’s future partner. That’s because the answer was already within the organization.<\/p>\n

Insert Mike Reilly<\/h2>\n

Mike Reilly was acquired by the Canadiens from the Minnesota Wild<\/a> at last year’s trade deadline<\/a> for a fifth-round pick in 2019. The pick actually belongs to the Washington <\/a>Capitals\u00a0and was acquired by the Habs earlier in the week<\/a> for Jakub Jerabek<\/strong>. That series of trades is now looking like an absolute steal for general manager\u00a0Marc Bergevin<\/a><\/strong>. Reilly has earned his place as a top-four defenceman on the Canadiens. He ended last season on a high note scoring eight points in 19 games and finishing with a plus-one rating.<\/p>\n

Reilly was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. However, Reilly never played a game for the Blue Jackets, as he elected to stay at the University of Minnesota. Reilly became a free agent in the summer of 2015, where he decided to sign with the Minnesota Wild. The team which his dad, Mike Reilly Sr., is actually a minority investor with the ownership group.<\/p>\n

Reilly couldn’t really crack the lineup as an everyday NHL player with the Wild, as he played 84 games over three seasons, and spent most of his time with the AHL affiliate\u00a0Iowa Wild. Now with the Canadiens, he’s looking to prove the Wild gave up on him too soon.<\/p>\n

Puck Mover the Canadiens Needed<\/h2>\n

The Canadiens have been wanting a puck mover who possesses great speed to slot in next to the elite defender Weber. This is exactly what Mike Reilly is. The best part of Reilly’s game is his ability to move the puck up the ice in transition. Reilly makes a great first past out of the zone and his skating ability allows him to move up the ice quickly to either carry the puck into the zone or join the attack on the rush. He also has the ability to play the point on the power play, something the Habs need with Weber out of the lineup. Whether the Habs will stick to four forwards on the power play or put Reilly with Weber to try and set up his one-timer once Weber returns remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Reilly has great agility and edgework which gives him the ability to walk the line to look for an open lane or find an opponent teammate to pass the puck off too. He has a decent set of hands allowing him to control the puck and deke around his opponents in tight spaces. This was on full display on Wednesday when the Habs hosted the St. Louis Blues<\/a>. Reilly held the line and deked around Brayden Schenn<\/a><\/strong> giving himself an open lane to the net. He ripped a shot home on the power play to give the Habs a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n