Why Morgan Rielly Will Not Dress For The Maple Leafs Against The Senators

KANATA, Ont — Morgan Rielly will not dress for the Toronto Maple Leafs when the visit the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube revealed before the game that the defenseman is sidelined with a lower-body injury, and Phil Myers will dress in his place.

Berube says Rielly aggravated something in Toronto’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday and has deemed the injury as day-to-day.

“I just made a decision on it this morning, with him being sick and then coming back. And he aggravated something last night,” Berube said. I don't want it to be an extended length thing. So I've got a healthy body with Myers. So he's going to play tonight.

Rielly had a rough game against the Hurricanes that included a giveaway in the offensive zone, leading to a shorthanded goal from Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller.

Rielly had previously been sick, forcing Toronto’s longest tenured Leaf to miss the team’s inaugural fan day.

Earlier in the season, Rielly missed two games in early February with an upper-body injury just as the club was shutting things down for the Olympic break. He also missed one game in October due to an undisclosed ailment.

Looking to regain his offensive skills, Rielly got off to a good start this season, but his play has sagged, much like the rest of the team as they move closer to mathematical elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nine goals and 24 assists in 67 games.

Called up before Toronto's game on Friday, Michael Pezzetta was not named by Berube as one of the lineup changes for Saturday, but later added he was a game-time decision. It's not clear why the club called him up if they are unsure of playing him. It's a little bizarre, unless Berube wants to surprise the Sens by inserting Pezzetta late into the linep.