Today Sheldon Keefe spoke about Morgan Rielly and his suspension before he returns to the lineup. In his comments Rielly defended his star defensemen's actions.
Inspiring Comments Made By Keefe While Defending Rielly
With Morgan Rielly set to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup tonight Sheldon Keefe spoke about the suspension. The Maple Leafs have notoriously been a team that lack physicality especially when standing up for one another. Keefe in his comments compliments Rielly for defending his guys.
"Morgan defended the pride of the group and the pride of the logo. In that moment, he shows you how much he cares about our team and what we are doing" - Sheldon Keefe
To this point, the Toronto Maple Leafs have talked a lot about being tougher to play against and sticking up for one another. This is the first time in a game where that talk truly became reality. Keefe believes he has seen a shift in the mindset of the team since then.
Keefe Compliments Rielly For Providing Wake-Up Call To His Teammates
With the Maple Leafs struggling to be consistent this season fans and media have been trying to find the problem. In the new comments from Keefe, he believes that the actions by Morgan Rielly have rallied the team to become more serious going forward.
"We didn't love the fact that he was going to get held accountable....but he means so much to our team...You can see it in that moment. I thought it was a real wake-up call to our team to get real serious about winning, take care of games, and rally" - Keefe
Rielly will officially return tonight against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights. His return and the teams performance will be key in determining if the Maple Leafs truly have turned it on and found a groove.