{"id":477232,"date":"2025-11-05T08:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T13:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=477232"},"modified":"2025-11-04T20:06:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T01:06:22","slug":"morgan-rielly-toronto-maple-leafs-defenceman-top-5-all-time-ranking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/11\/05\/morgan-rielly-toronto-maple-leafs-defenceman-top-5-all-time-ranking\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Morgan Reilly a Top-5 Maple Leafs Defencemen of All Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs history, you\u2019re diving into over a century of hockey, 13 Stanley Cups, Hall of Famers, dynasties, droughts, legends, and heartbreak. Legendary defencemen like Tim Horton<\/a>, Borje Salming<\/a>, King Clancy<\/a>, and Red Kelly<\/a> helped define eras. They shaped the identity of the franchise. So the question we ask today is, does Morgan Rielly<\/a> belong among them? Our short answer is yes. But how can we come to such a definite decision. The timing is fitting, as Rielly just moved into second by himself in Leafs franchise points by a defenceman.<\/p>\n

Morgan Rielly\u2019s Case<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Drafted fifth overall in 2012 NHL Entry Draft<\/a>, Morgan Rielly has quietly become one of the most reliable and impactful defencemen Toronto has had in generations. He\u2019s played over 800 games for the Leafs and surpassed 500 career points, including a 72-point season in 2018\u201319, the fifth-highest single-season total by a defenceman in team history. In the playoffs, where every mistake is magnified, he\u2019s stepped up with 47 points in 70 games, and over 24 minutes of ice time per night.<\/p>\n

Defensively, he\u2019ll never be labeled a pure shutdown guy like Tim Horton<\/a> or Allan Stanley<\/a>, but he has evolved. Over his last three seasons, he\u2019s averaged more than 100 blocked shots per year, consistently leads the team in defensive-zone breakouts, and maintains a positive expected goals percentage (xG%) at five-on-five despite regularly facing elite matchups such as Connor McDavid<\/a>, Nathan MacKinnon<\/a>, Nikita Kucherov<\/a>, David Pastrnak<\/a>, Sidney Crosby<\/a>, you name it. Rielly drives transition better than any Leafs defenceman in the last 30 years.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s never won a Norris Trophy, but he\u2019s been the Leafs\u2019 No. 1 defenceman for roughly eight-straight seasons, something no one in Toronto has done since Borje Salming.<\/p>\n

Where He Ranks: Top-5 Defencemen in Maple Leafs History<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Borje Salming (1973\u20131989)<\/strong><\/p>\n