Jim Hiller Sounds Off On The Morgan Rielly Controversy.

The calls for a Morgan Rielly trade from both Toronto Maple Leafs fans and members of the Toronto media were loud and clear but, despite the public backlash, Rielly remains a Maple Leaf in training camp and it seems all but a certainty that he will at least begin this season with the Maple Leafs.

On Monday, newly appointed Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller was made available to the media and he faced questions about his vision for Rielly moving forward and addressed some of the criticisms that Rielly has faced over the summer in the process.

"I do understand the narrative that people got down on Morgan," said Hiller on Monday as per Luke Fox. "I don't see it. I'm giving him a clean slate, and I'm glad he's excited to play. I expect a great year."

It seems Hiller means what he says, with the new head coach making it clear that he plans to deploy Rielly with as many of his star teammates as possible, and in as many offensive situations as possible.

"We envision him playing with Raddy," said Hiller. "We think they can be a good pair. Try to spot him a little more in the O-zone if we can, and give them maybe more minutes with some of our top six forwards."

Rielly's struggles under former Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube were a regular source of criticism during that era, but it seems clear that Hiller believes he can get more out of Rielly than what we've seen from him in recent seasons. Whether or not Rielly will validate that trust and remain one of Toronto's top defensemen remains to be seen.