Morgan Rielly joined Sekeres and Price on TSN1040 Vancouver to discuss Mike Babcock, the Toronto fishbowl, and the Phil Kessel trade.
TSN: How was your season with the Maple Leafs?
Rielly: It was good. We had our ups and downs, but we’re a young team with a bright future. I think we made some strides this year, so we’re looking forward to next year and getting things going.
On the Mike Babcock hire:
Rielly: We’ve had some conversations. I’ve obviously heard of him. He’s a great coach with a huge reputation. He’s won just about everything there is to win. To get a chance to play for him next year is very exciting. I’m really looking forward to it. All the players are anxious to get going. It’s exciting.
After three coaches in three years, on the value of some coaching stability:
Rielly: As players, you want that for sure. Heading into camp, we know what to expect. It’s a tough camp, but as players we’re looking forward to it. We have him there for a long time. I think it’s great. Obviously, he has a great reputation and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work for him. I think he’s going to get the best out of the players.
On the Kessel trade:
Rielly: You don’t [replace him], I don’t think. He’s a pretty unique player. He’s a highly skilled guy who can play with the best of them. He’s a great person as well. A great teammate. To lose him is tough. He’s going to have a great year going into Pittsburgh. The guy might score 50. I mean, I think he’s a great player. I don’t think you can really replace him. As a team, I think we have to do our best to improve on it and get better.
On the dynamics in the room and rumours about Phil:
Rielly: There’s been some rumours about Phil, but, personally, he’s probably one of the best teammates I’ve had. He’s a good team guy. He takes a lot of heat obviously, but, you know, I love him. He’s a hard working guy. It changes things, but I think the team just has to get better and just move forward from it.
On the Toronto fishbowl:
Rielly: I guess it kind of depends on how we’re playing. With how things went last year, it was tough. Each day you’re hoping that you don’t have a misspoken moment in the media because you know you’re going to hear about it. You know, it’s just a matter of playing well. If we’re playing well, it’s happy days. You lose 12 straight, it can be tough at times. As pro athletes, that’s in our job description. We have to handle it like pros.
It’s tough. It’s not an experience that I would want to have again. Obviously, you always want to win games and play well and everything, but when you’re losing the way we did last year, it’s tough. It’s just a matter of using it as a chance to grow as a person and a player. You just hope you don’t have to experience that again, and you just want to be better for it.
On Cody Franson:
Rielly: I called him. I’ll have a conversation with him about that later. I don’t know whether there’s an offer in there from Toronto, I’m not going to talk about that, but if he was to play with us again, that would be great. He’s a great player and I’m sure he’ll be just fine.
