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Morgan Rielly met with the media on locker clean out day following the end of the 2016-17 season.


Compared to previous locker clean out days where it was a couple of weeks earlier, does it have a different feel?

Rielly: Yeah. When you’re not in it, and you’re not trying to compete in the playoffs and you know what you’re doing, you start booking flights and what not. Now, in our position, we wanted to do everything to keep playing. When it ends that quickly, it’s tough.

Does this experience light a fire under you guys going into next year?

Rielly: Yeah, for sure. Having a chance to play in the playoffs and enjoy that atmosphere and be around it, it just makes you more motivated and makes you want to do it every year, and do it for longer. The guys in this room have always known how great our fans are and how great of an opportunity it is to play for this team and play in the playoffs. Getting a taste of it makes you want it more.

When you stop playing, it kind of finally gets to the point where you can relax and step back and look at what you’ve gone through. How do you feel physically now?

Rielly: There are definitely bumps and bruises. I think I speak for all of us when I say you play through injury and you play through whatever you have to stay in the lineup. At the end of a year, it is definitely a time to take care of your body and make sure you’re health and do whatever you have to do to get yourself ready for a big offseason.

Did your ankle get back to 100%?

Rielly: My ankle is fine.

You talked about the pride you felt after the game. You’ve had a day or so to reflect on it. How do you feel about the season overall?

Rielly: I mean, big picture, it’s a lot to look at. A lot of games to go over, a lot of things to think about. I think, just as a group, there is some pride to be taken. You look at where we were last year and you look at where we are now, I think there is a big change. Like I said before, it’s just one step in the right direction. We have bigger goals. We have bigger things that we want to achieve. When you look at the way we’ve grown together and matured and we’ve improved, I think it’s great. This is just one small step.

For you personally, where do you see the biggest steps you’ve taken?

Rielly: Last year we were last in the league, this year we made the playoffs. I think that’s probably the biggest one.

Jake pushed the 400-game plateau. You’ve pushed 300+. Where do you make strides in your game as you go from one season to the next?

Rielly: You get more experience. You get more comfortable. There are things you want to work on over the course of a season and over the course of your career. Your goal is to come to the rink and try to get better each day. I have a lot of work left to do. I think we all do. I think we’re all willing to do that, myself included.

Is there one specific memory that you’ll take away from this season?

Rielly: Just the experience of being in the playoffs, and the experience of watching those videos of the fans outside, I think that was definitely the highlight.