Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly played in his 800th NHL career game Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, and he could have a memento from it by the end of the night.
Rielly scored during the second period to give the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead, converting on a cross-ice feed from Mitch Marner. It was Rielly’s second goal of the season. Rielly cut across the ice, lost Brad Marchand in space and then converted Marner’s pass on a one-timer.
Here is the play:
That magic was rielly nice 🪄🤭 pic.twitter.com/oiPcmYf7PY
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) October 27, 2024
Rielly is the longest-tenured member of the Maple Leafs and was selected fifth overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. He made his debut for the Maple Leafs during the 2013-14 season and hasn’t looked back, emerging as a core member of the team during the Auston Matthews era, and has functioned as the team’s most important defenceman.
“I feel young,” Rielly told Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun earlier this week. “I’m fortunate to have spent the time here in Toronto. I feel I’ve had a lot of help from the equipment staff, the medical staff, the support system here. It’s world class and a lot of credit goes to them.”
It appears likely that Rielly could attempt to break the Maple Leafs’ all-time games played record. He’s currently in 11th place, and should pass Ron Stewart and Darryl Sittler this season, provided he remains healthy. Rielly signed an eight-year, $60-million extension with the Maple Leafs in October 2021 and it appears likely that he’ll spend the duration of his career with the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly is skating in his 800th career NHL game tonight.
He currently ranks 11th in franchise history among Maple Leafs skaters and fourth in franchise history among Maple Leafs defencemen in all-time games played. #LeafsForever
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 26, 2024
At the time of this filing, the Maple Leafs trail the Bruins 3-2. After Rielly scored, the Maple Leafs allowed two goals in a 35-second span — Rielly was on the ice for Mark Kastelic’s go-ahead goal and is working with a new partner in Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
