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The Leafs’ game in Ottawa on Saturday could have easily ended like many prior losses 鈥� with a Leafs player standing in a media scrum and promising the team will learn from its mistakes. But on this night, Rielly had different ideas.

The cross-check on Senators forward Ridly Greig at the end of the game didn鈥檛 match Rielly鈥檚 character. He had just eight penalty minutes all season entering the game.

Was Rielly鈥檚 reaction to a slapshot聽into an empty net simply a knee-jerk reaction or is it a credit to his high emotional intelligence in understanding what his team needed? Maybe it was a combination of both.

It looked as if Rielly saw a door that Greig opened and chose to drive a truck right through it.

Once you get past all the world-class skill the Leafs possess, one of the faults with the team’s leaders聽 has been finding emotion in their game. That is often attributed to their unwillingness to get their noses dirty and stand up for their teammates .

Remember when Panthers disturber Sam Bennett slammed rookie Matthew Knies鈥� head into the ice in the second round last year, knocking him out of the playoffs with a concussion? Or when Bruins captain Brad Marchand slew-footed a young Timothy Liljegren in November? Marchand skated away untouched, Liljegren landed on long-term injured reserve.

Whether he meant to cross-check Greig in the head or not, Rielly took a big step to change that narrative Saturday.

A strong leader should inspire and motivate his team to find the necessary emotion to compete at its best. Without that emotion, players will struggle to find the connection needed to play with the intensity and passion the NHL requires. In that instant between the empty-net slapshot and Rielly鈥檚 weighted response, this team gained an element of being unpredictable, maybe even a little unhinged. As hard as it was to watch for some, that level of fire has been missing from the Leafs for too long and they seemed to rally around it.

Coach Sheldon Keefe backed up his star defenceman, calling it an 鈥渁ppropriate鈥� response. 鈥淚t is not to be malicious by any means, but it is to do his part to show that we didn鈥檛 like what happened,鈥� he said.

This version of the Leafs has been the most frustrating of any since Brendan Shanahan took over as president in 2015. When a talented team consistently underperforms, one of two things tend to happen: a big trade or a coaching change. With neither on the horizon, Rielly took matters into his own hands and delivered the jolt so many in Leafs Nation have waited for.

Now in his 11th season, Rielly is the longest-tenured Leafs player. When Dion Phaneuf was traded in 2012, they decided to play the rest of the year without a team captain. Looking back now, it seems strange that Rielly was never seriously considered as a potential future captain.

The team鈥檚 focus first shifted after drafting Auston Matthews first overall in 2016, then again after signing longtime New York Islanders captain John Tavares in 2018. It seemed only natural the Leafs would skip grooming Rielly, Matthews and Mitch Marner as potential captains and give Tavares the honour immediately. But that didn鈥檛 happened either. It took Shanahan and GM Kyle Dubas over a year to decide.

While it鈥檚 no exaggeration to describe Tavares鈥檚 captaincy through five-and-a-half seasons as underwhelming, he鈥檒l get another chance to lead this team to a strong playoff run this spring.

But if that doesn鈥檛 happen, it鈥檚 conceivable the Leafs will move the captaincy off the 33-year-old鈥檚 sweater next September as he plays out the final year of his contract. That鈥檚 when the Leafs should take a much harder look at Rielly, who was drafted fifth overall in 2012 and is signed through the 2029-30 season.

While many believe Matthews is destined as the next one to wear the “C,” he will still have to show some emotional growth between now and then. He may be far more comfortable focusing on putting the puck in the net and leaving the motivation to others. That鈥檚 not a negative judgment on Matthews, but what Rielly did on Saturday to rally the dressing room isn鈥檛 everyone鈥檚 cup of tea.

Matthews, though, seemed to be inspired by the incident: 鈥淚 think it definitely deserved a reaction,” he told reporters. “Somebody was going to do it, especially after a play like that.”聽

Today’s game has become too cerebral. The hard-systems approach encourages analytics as a replacement to instincts. The game at times can look robotic.

While I didn鈥檛 like Rielly鈥檚 execution on Greig, many Leafs fans appreciated his willingness to push the team out of its comfort zone. That type of raw emotion can often have a profound effect on a hockey team .

And Tuesday night鈥檚 win was the Leafs鈥� best team effort of the season. How long they can ride this new-found moxie is anyone鈥檚 guess.

Kyper’s Korner

鈥擭ew Jersey Devils ownership is putting tremendous heat on GM Tom Fitzgerald to find a goalie before the March 8 trade deadline. With talks for Calgary goalie Jacob Markstr枚m shutting down abruptly, the Devils have聽 focused on Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Anaheim鈥檚 John Gibson. My bet is they eventually circle back to Markstr枚m and get a deal done.

鈥擶ith the Rangers and the Avalanche missing out on Sean Monahan, who landed in Winnipeg, look for talks to shift toward Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton, Seattle’s Alex Wennberg, Anaheim鈥檚 Adam Henrique and Columbus鈥檚 Boone Jenner. Their prices include a first-round pick, plus more.

鈥� Florida鈥檚 Aaron Ekblad is eligible for a contract extension in July, he no longer has the Wasserman Group representing him and he doesn鈥檛 appear to have another agent at this time. There is no indication the Panthers have strong interest in moving him, or re-signing him for that matter. His no-move clause doesn鈥檛 drop to a list of 12 teams until July 1.

Change my mind

On Hockey Canada’s decision to keep all 22 members of Canada鈥檚 2018 world junior team suspended from international competition, pending an appeal:聽If players like Colorado’s Cale Makar or St. Louis’s Robert Thomas aren’t considered suspects in the case, why paint them with the same suspension brush?