A chance remains for Morgan Rielly to represent the Atlantic Division in the all-star game, though the Maple Leafs defenceman knows that a week off instead would be beneficial.

Rielly is the Leafs’ Last Man In candidate in the division, with fan voting ending on Jan. 10. Each NHL team has one candidate, and the player with the most votes in each division will be off to San Jose for the Jan. 26 game.

“We’ll see what happens,” Rielly said. “The most important thing is here in Toronto. All of that stuff is cool and it would be fun, but I’m focused on our game (Saturday) night (against the Vancouver Canucks).”

Teammates Auston Matthews and John Tavares will be going to the all-star game. Mitch Marner and Frederik Andersen, though deserving, were not chosen to participate.

If Rielly is not voted in, he will value the break and the Leafs’ ensuing bye week.

“It’s important that guys get their rest down the stretch, it’s important that you take care of your body,” Rielly said. “We have a tough schedule coming down the stretch, so the timing is important for rest and recovery.”

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HYMAN NOT FREE YET

Zach Hyman continues to skate before his Leafs teammates practise, and you can bet he is itching to return to the lineup.

That won’t happen until Hyman participates in at least one full practice. The robust winger has missed the past six games after suffering sprained ankle on Dec. 18 in a game against New Jersey.

“He is probably in his mind ready to play, but he has to get released, got to get a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “Hymes is in shape and wants to play but they have to get him back when he is ready.”

How has Hyman’s absence impacted the Leafs?

“We’re just not as good a hockey team without him,” Babcock said.

“We’re not as heavy, we’re don’t forecheck as good, we don’t hang to the puck in O zone, we don’t spend as much time on it, we’re not as good. We’re not as good on the penalty kill.”

REMEMBERING QUINN

Saturday will mark the 10-year anniversary of Canada’s gold-medal win at the 2009 world junior hockey championship in Ottawa, a victory that also marks the most recent time a nation won in back-to-back years (it ended a five-year golden run for Canada).

For Tavares and Tyler Ennis, not only are the memories golden, but so too was the experience of playing for the late Pat Quinn. The latter became Canada’s head coach that September when Benoit Groulx resigned.

“I grew up watching (Quinn) coaching the Leafs, so it was a real thrill for me to be around a guy who had his presence and his wisdom and knowledge, and coached so many great players, a lot of great Leafs,” Tavares said. “Every day you wanted to soak it in. That presence, his coaching, it was fantastic, but it as also just being around him and hearing some of the stories and things that he talked about from his experience and his hockey career and his life.

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“All of it was pretty special. It was great to win with him and he had a lot of belief in me. It was a real confidence-builder for me, that tournament.”

Quinn, who died in 2014, had been seen by some as a coach who did not relate well to younger players when he coached in the NHL. The gold medal with Canada’s junior team put that notion to rest.

“People were saying he was not good with coaching kids, so he wanted to prove them wrong in that sense and he did a great job,” Ennis said. “We came together and got it done. It was pretty cool to have Pat Quinn as a coach.”

ONE MORE FOR MARLEAU

Leafs winger Patrick Marleau will move into sole possession of ninth on the NHL list of career games played when he takes his first shift on Saturday night, putting him at 1,616 games in the NHL, one more than Larry Murphy.

In eighth is Scott Stevens, who played in 1,635 games.