- Morgan Rielly left Saturday’s game against the Canadiens with a lower-body injury and won’t return
- The Maple Leafs defenseman played 5:45 in the first period before heading down the tunnel
- Read below for what we know about the Rielly injury so far
Morgan Rielly is hurt, and the Maple Leafs are already short on the back end.
The 32-year-old defenseman left Saturday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body injury, and the team announced he won’t return. Rielly logged just 5:45 in the first period before he went down the tunnel. Nothing on the ice made it obvious what happened.
The Leafs haven’t said how long he could be out or given any further detail on the injury. Toronto hasn’t offered a timeline.
The timing stings. Rielly had been playing some of his best hockey of the season, with 12 points in 17 games and 19:31 a night. Fans spent the last few weeks talking about whether he could be a trade candidate, and a quiet turnaround had started to change that conversation.
Injuries have piled up for Toronto early. John Tavares came back from a nine-game absence in this same game, while Kirill Marchenko is still out with a knee issue. Now Rielly joins the list.
It hasn’t been a good night otherwise. Montreal led 3-0 in the third period, and McKenna’s turnovers helped build it. Here’s the second one, which Kreider turned into a goal:
Rielly missed one game midway through last season with a lower-body injury that was first called day-to-day. Toronto will update his status after the game or in the coming days.
