NHL suspends Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly for five games

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be skating without Morgan Rielly for the next little while.

Rielly has received a five-game suspension for his cross check on Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig on Saturday night. It’ll cost Rielly $195,312.50 in missed pay.

In the waning seconds of Toronto’s 5-3 loss to the Senators, Rielly took offence to Greig’s choice to take a slap shot on a wide-open net. Rielly hit Grieg with a cross-check up high, causing a bit of an on-ice brouhaha.

Ridly Greig buries the empty-netter with a slapshot and Morgan Rielly takes exception 😳 pic.twitter.com/6NISK4AMSt

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 11, 2024

The incident also caused quite the aftermath in the hockey community, with all sorts of opinions coming out about whether A) Greig’s shot was appropriate and B) Rielly’s action was appropriate, as well as added discussions about whether there would be more focus on the play if it didn’t occur between two rival Canadian teams.

Greig himself didn’t speak to the media Monday, whereas Ottawa head coach Jacques Martin said he wasn’t shocked by all the attention the play has received.

“It’s just a situation where Ottawa and Toronto is a rivalry and it brings attention to people,” Martin said Monday.

“I think there’s a history also of events that happen in Toronto and with the Leafs that get more attention and more hype that tend to lead to something such as this,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe added.

Another character who has been inserted into the situation is Rielly’s teammate Ryan Reaves, who offered some threatening words for Greig.

“If you rewind to when I came into the league, he’s probably still laying on the ice. I thought [Rielly’s response] was appropriate. I don’t see how a kid that young thinks it’s appropriate to do something like that,” Reaves said.

The Leafs return to action on Tuesday night when they host the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is set for 7 pm ET.

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