Morgan Rielly opens up about losing his swagger — and trying to find it again

SEATTLE Mitch Marner is about to amble past Morgan Rielly in a corner of the Toronto Maple Leafs temporary confines at Climate Pledge Arena.

Before Marner walks through the door and out of the room, he gives Rielly a playful shove.

With a road trips worth of stubble on his face and a navy Leafs ball cap on his head, Rielly grins.

Advertisement The teams longest-serving player hasnt had much to smile about recently as he trudges through one of the more difficult seasons of his NHL career.

January was particularly rough: Rielly was on the ice for 20 goals against in 13 games, including two or more on six occasions.

He produced only four points at the other end.

His ice time in one game 16:27 on Jan.

18 in Montreal dropped to a level not seen since his earliest years as a Leaf.

The team was concerned by what they were seeing, albeit also optimistic.

Rielly wasnt some soon-to-be 31-year-old in the midst of rapid physical decline.

Rather, it seemed evident in his play that this was a struggle between the ears.

In other words, it was something that could be fixed.

The early days of February are proving encouraging.

Rielly had one of his best nights of the season in Calgary earlier this week he was on the ice for four Leafs goals and none against, the team dominating his five-on-five minutes and followed that up with another engaged performance in Seattle, which included a direct-strike assist to Bobby McMann on a power play that Rielly himself drew for the Leafs.

Rielly now has points in three consecutive games, his first such streak since November.

Did Rielly feel like he was getting his swagger back? Yeah.

Yeah, he paused, debating for a half-second whether to elaborate.

Yeah.

Then he did elaborate on what hes been going through in conversation with The Athletic, as well as his efforts to get out of it.

I dont want to say its all mental, said Rielly.

I feel like that gets overused.

It had more to do with mindset, he explained.

Unlocking the right mindset again, that is.

I think this whole time Ive kinda felt like I wasnt that far off to get to where I wanted to be, Rielly said.

And Im not saying Im there now.

Im saying Im just kinda working towards that.

Advertisement But yeah, he added.

I feel good.

Ive been feeling good.

Its kind of a mindset.

I feel like its getting there.

What was the right mindset for Rielly? It was hard to explain, he said.

Its just everything about like, you cant really tell yourself to be confident.

But you can go out there and you try to perform in a way or do things that provide confidence.

Which for Rielly meant less overthinking and more plain old aggression, more playing to instincts.

More being Morgan Rielly.

The Leafs believed Rielly, trying to minimize risk to suit the preferences of first-year head coach Craig Berube, had swung too far the other way, removing too much risk from his game and losing something essential in the process.

Rielly agreed with that assessment.

At times, I think so, he said.

But thats no ones fault but my own.

Berube urged him to just be aggressive and use your abilities.

Mistakes would happen.

Rielly has been trying to strike the right balance throughout his 12-year NHL career between taking chances and creating opportunities for offence, but not so recklessly that it costs his team at the other end.

This season, his first under Berube after five years under Sheldon Keefe and four-plus seasons before that under Mike Babcock, has arguably been the most challenging what with Berubes risk-free desires as well as changes to the way the team defends under the new coach.

Theres lots of times where I try to be more defensive because thats good for the team.

Thats not always the way that it shakes out, Rielly said.

Your intentions dont always come out the right way.

And I think at times, for me in particular, you just gotta go out and fing play and be confident and be aggressive and lean into your skill set and do what makes you who you are.

Which explains why Rielly is looking more like Rielly all of a sudden: more involved in the play, his legs constantly in motion, his eyes again scanning the ice for scoring opportunities.

Hes putting pucks on net again too eight in the last three games after one shot, total, in the previous five.

Advertisement I think when Im playing well Ive done a lot of reflecting over the years but there are certain things that Im doing that are common trends for when Im playing well and how Im feeling, said Rielly, who sits 23 points back of Tomas Kaberle for second all-time among Leafs defencemen.

Its just a matter of having confidence, going out and playing and being aggressive.

Trust your instincts is big.

Trust your skill set.

Im not saying Ive gotten everything figured out, but I feel like Im getting to where I want to be.

Manifesting confidence proved particularly difficult last month when it seemed like just about any time Rielly took the ice, the puck was finding its way into the Leafs net sometimes because of Rielly, like when he lost a battle behind the net against Minnesota last week, sometimes not.

It felt like it was happening all the time.

All the time, Rielly concurred.

He recalled similar stretches over a career that spans almost 900 games, but that didnt make it any easier to absorb when it was happening.

He found counsel with teammates who had endured similar funks.

Its a test its a real test, he said.

And I think thats how I view it.

Its a test of character, a test of your will, and your willingness to stick with things and push through and work hard and not get down or not get discouraged.

I mean, there were times Id get in the car after games and I felt like Im right there and Im playing well and its just not happening.

And then theres other times where I dont feel quite as positive.

It wore on Rielly.

The team could see it.

I was working hard.

I was determined to get out of it, Rielly said.

It was not a lack of investment on my part.

But the harder you work sometimes isnt always the answer ...

I think that probably happened to a certain degree.

Advertisement Positivity is slowly seeping back in.

Rielly has been eyeing a positive spurt heading into the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

That would allow him the opportunity to reset not (with) a clean slate, but you pick up after a break and you really get going.

Pick back up with confidence re-established.

Its an important thing in any line of work, Rielly said.

You want to feel confident, and when youre confident things tend to feel a little bit easier, kinda come a little bit easier.

And so for me, I know Im prepared, I know that Im healthy, and I know that Im capable.

Its just going out there and doing it.

(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.