Maple Leafs forced into drastic Morgan Rielly decision much earlier than they hoped

With how ineffective Morgan Rielly has been this season and over the past two years, he's forcing the Maple Leafs to decide whether keeping him is truly worth it.

It's safe to say that the Maple Leafs' defensive group has been unimpressive so far this season. Outside of Troy Stecher, Jake McCabe, and glimpses from Darren Raddysh - it's been rough.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is pointless through eight games and doesn't look like his typical self, Nick Blankenburg just found himself in the lineup, and Chris Tanev was solid, but could be out long-term so he's basically a wash.

Morgan Rielly is an unserious defenseman

But the biggest issue has been Morgan Rielly, which seems to be the argument year after year, and for some it's getting worrisome:

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Jim Hiller was forced to put Rielly together with Stecher and while you can commend Stecher for his tenacity and relentless grit, he can only do so much while Rielly falters alongside him.

Rielly has four assists but is already a minus-5, has been on the ice for more goals against than for (12 to 8), and even though it's early - he has a combined 0.3 point score.

Rielly's defensive collapses have been a critical part of Toronto's rough start

He isn't scoring or driving the offense, he's breaking down in his own end, and has been responsible for numerous chances against thanks to his collapses:

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The above clips show exactly why Rielly is causing a concern for Toronto. He's getting blown by with ease, he's not fast enough to catch up, and he kind of just gives up when beaten. Against Buffalo, he basically decided to forgo putting his body on the line as Owen Power had a wide open lane:

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Rielly was two feet from blocking Power's shot, and instead of sprawling out to try and block the shot, he went with a crouched approach. With less than two minutes left in OT he needs to give himself up - not be worried about getting hit.

We know he isn't exactly a shutdown guy, but come on - Rielly needs to do better. He has essentially forced the Maple Leafs into reassessing what they have in him, and they need to weigh if keeping him around is worth these consistent issues.

He has that protection, so it won't be easy but the best way for Toronto to force his hand into giving them a chance to trade him is to just play him less. Give him third pairing minutes, don't run him on the PP, and make him earn his way back if he wants to be here still.

Until then, the Maple Leafs have a lot to think about regarding Morgan Rielly, because if this type of performances keep happening - it won't be an if anymore when it comes to trading him, but when.

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