Ridly Greig is a wild man.
It took him 38 games, but the rookie finally pushed the right button to send an opponent over the edge.
It was only a matter of time.
Back in December, I tweeted the following:
A month and a half later, Greig’s actions predictably provoked a response. I don’t believe anyone thought it would involve him burying an uncontested empty-net goal with a clapper eight feet out from the net. Nor did anyone believe it would be Morgan Rielly that Greig would have an encounter with.
Everything from the etiquette of scoring an empty net goal to Rielly’s response has fostered discourse about the rights and wrongs of what happened.
The code! The code! The code! He violated the code! He’s too young to be pulling shit like that! And, if he does, keep your head up and know what’s coming!
All that matters is that Ridly Greig knew exactly what he was doing.
Despite his brief tenure within the league, Greig is not afraid to stir the pot. He is the quintessential guy you love to have on your team but would hate to play against. He unashamedly embraces his role as a pest and shit disturber. And, he’s pretty effective at it. If you don’t believe me, just ask Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde — video courtesy of the Locked On Senators Podcast (@senscentral)
Greig thrives pushing the envelope and getting under the skin of the opposition. Knowing that, it would be easy to attribute what happened to a player who obnoxiously wanted to rub the Senators’ win into a division and provincial rival.
Perhaps there is a chance that there was more to it, however. Every Day Sens posted a clip revealing Greig’s second last shift of the game that may add more context to what happened.
If Greig used the opportunity for retribution and cathartic relief, power to him.
Here is how Greig described the events to reporters following last night’s game.
“Just a lot of adrenaline. The heat of the moment, the heat of the game. It was an emotional game. Just got a breakaway and thought I’d bury it.”
While he was burying it, he was unearthing and escalating a rivalry that has lacked animosity and laid dormant for the better part of the last 20 years. Most of that can be attributable to the fact that the Leafs were poorly managed and experienced a downturn before Ottawa experienced the same over the last seven years.
In Toronto, the response was less kind.
Ryan Reaves attributed Greig’s actions to the evolution of the game.
“Kids these days, they’re playing a different brand of hockey than I’m used to. The code’s changed a little bit.
The game’s changed a lot and it’s unfortunate that a kid like that can get away with something like that and one of our best players is going to get suspended.”
It is a shame that Rielly was going to get suspended?
The shame for the Leafs is that Rielly took the bait and got suckered into doing something stupid. There is certainly some truth to what Reaves says, however. The game has evolved away from the days when managers were willing to fill the depths of the roster with grease bags and pugilists who could not contribute in meaningful ways. The roster composition of both clubs during this stretch has not helped contribute to much animosity.
Just like his ice time and responsibility this season, it did not take long for Reaves to lose the plot too.
"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."
Easy there, Grandpa. There is no need to reminisce about the rough and tumble days of 2012 when only two players eclipsed 200 minutes in penalties. Heck, you would figure Reaves would appreciate other acts of showmanship. In December of 2022, he destroyed Filip Hronek with a hit and forced him to leave the game with an injury. Reaves would eventually flex his biceps after fighting Ben Chiarot later that game.
Joking aside, the Leafs’ roster composition is the reason Reaves was brought into the fold. His addition was designed to foster change and improve the Maple Leafs’ culture. He was even put on the ice in the dying seconds of the game Saturday and he did not do a bloody thing. If he’s not a deterrent and all that is left for him to do is shoot his mouth off after the game is over, who’s he fooling?
Like everything else coming out of Toronto trying to rationalize Rielly’s actions, it’s just performative anger.
I mean, on some levels, I get it.
As Bobby Ryan eloquently stated between pindick references and a Bruce Garrioch imitation, there has to be some kind of response. Characterized as a soft team, the Leafs have already been called out this season for not responding to Brad Marchand’s hit on Timothy Liljegren. Their response is put under the microscope every time there is an on-ice incident or perceived slight.
Nobody should begrudge Rielly for responding to Greig’s hilariously disrespectful goal. But, everyone can certainly criticize him for dangerously delivering a cross-check to the head of Greig.
We can debate whether it was deliberate or intended for his shoulder but rode up the pad, but it was not a hockey play. It was eerily reminiscent of Dale Hunter’s hit on Pierre Turgeon during the 1993 playoffs. The only difference was that Turgeon sustained an injury from the incident. Greig could have, however. It was a dangerous and unnecessary event near the boards that could have been significantly worse had Greig been concussed or had bounced his head off the dasher or ice.
The five-game suspension imposed by the Department of Player Safety felt light considering the six games David Perron received for cross-checking Artem Zub in the head earlier in the season.
Rielly feels otherwise.
He will reportedly appeal his five-game suspension and drag this thing out even more.
Let the comedy continue.
The Senators are Interested in Matt Dumba
During last night’s TSN broadcast, Bruce Garrioch expressed a belief that the Senators had an interest in Matt Dumba.
This report comes 13 months after Darren Dreger reported that the Senators had an interest last year when Dumba was a member of the Wild. That interest occurred under general manager Pierre Dorion’s watch and he is no longer here.
His track record for targeting the right insulating players is suspect, but with so much faith being invested in this new regime’s ability to work in concert with their scouts and data analysts to identify effective and cost-efficient players, any reported interest in Dumba is disappointing.
For a player who will turn 30 years of age in July and is about to enter the declining stages of his career, it is a massive concern that he is not an effective player now. Using Evolving-Hockey’s ‘goals above replacement’ (GAR) and ‘wins above replacement’ (WAR) data, it puts Dumba’s value as below the contributions of a league-average player.
JFreshHockey’s data backs that up.
As I wrote last year, this is not some isolated period of bad hockey. He has not been good in quite some time and most of the analysis I used last year holds true now. (If you haven’t given the piece a read, please do.)
There is certainly something to be said about upgrading talent on the right side. Giving significant minutes to players like Travis Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker just cannot happen. That right side of the blue line should be the easiest position to upgrade based on this year’s performances of these two defencemen, but that doesn’t mean the organization should have to settle.
The hope here is that Garrioch is simply espousing a belief that the Senators should have interest in because Dumba’s a high-character guy on an expiring contract that they can get a look at now before deciding to offer him a contract extension or not.
A noticeable trend under management is how tight-lipped they are. As ensconced as Garrioch was with the Melnyk and Dorion regime, the opposite feels true under new management. Hopefully, this is a case where Bruce’s information or assumptions are wrong.
Other News and Notes:
Vladimir Tarasenko told reporters that he is “open to all possibilities” ahead of the March 8th trade deadline. Tarasenko would not confirm whether he or his representatives have had conversations with management regarding a contract extension or waiving his no-trade clause.
Speaking of misinformation, Ian Mendes shed light on what teammates had to say about Ridly Greig.
Trevor Shackles noticed that Ridly Greig has accumulated the most value among rookies using Evolving-Hockey’s GAR and WAR metrics. If he continues his play and has a strong second half, he will have to merit consideration for his strong two-way play.
Excellent take Graeme. I find the comments coming out of toronto pretty hilarious. Everyone associated with the Leafs is wearing a lot of egg on their faces. Glad Ridley's ok. He may be nursing a sore head but I am sure he's wearing an all day smirk too. He's going to get under a lots of people's skins in what I hope is a long career.