If you haven’t seen it yet or heard the news, Morgan Reilly is expected to be suspended for more than five games after what he did to Ridly Greig, following an unwritten rule the forward broke at the end of the matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators. The unwritten rule that has fans split is that Greig decided to take a slap shot into an empty net to give the Senators a 5-3 lead, rather than just tap the puck in, which Reilly took exception to and cross-checked Greig directly in the face, leading to an in-person hearing scheduled for Tuesday (Feb. 13).
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With many fans around the league split on what was justified and what wasn’t, Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves made it clear in a statement today that he stands behind what Reilly did and defended his teammate.
“If you rewind to when I came into the league, he’s probably still laying on the ice…I thought it was appropriate. I don’t see how a kid that young thinks it’s appropriate to do something like that.”
– Ryan Reaves (Reaves backs Rielly ahead of hearing: ‘I thought it was appropriate’)
Reilly has scored seven goals and added 36 assists for 43 points through 50 games this season while leading Toronto in average ice time at 24:21. Reaves has scored two goals and has no assists through 25 games with the Maple Leafs this season, but adding 20 penalty minutes in his first year with them.
Reilly will likely be looking at the longest suspension of his career as the NHL will be looking to crack down on plays like this one. Unfortunately, the league will likely be looking to make an example of Reilly and send a message that plays like that one will not be tolerated.