Morgan Rielly struggles to contain emotions on Monday.

It seems like the pain is radiating off of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly.

An uncharacteristically subdued and emotional Rielly spoke to the media on Monday during the team's end of season media availability, and he spoke as candidly as could be expected of a player in his position. Rielly did little to shy away from the fact that he is currently going through it after failing to achieve his goal yet again.

"It's always difficult," said Rielly. "I feel this year maybe more."

That would make sense when you consider the fact that the failures have started to mount for this Maple Leafs core, but Rielly revealed that it was the circumstances of his own situation that have him truly feeling the impact of this loss.

"I'm not sure," admitted Rielly when asked why this one felt worse. "Partly because the game was in overtime, partly being on the ice for the goal, partly age... you know every year gets more challenging."

The reality is that the sport of hockey is very much a young man's game and nowhere is that more obvious than at the National Hockey League level. Rielly seems acutely aware of the fact that he will only get a limited number of chances at becoming a champion, and he may have already used up most of his.

When asked if he was replaying that final goal in his head, Rielly again did not shy away from being honest.

"Oh, a lot" said Rielly his voice breaking with emotion.

There's no question that fans in Toronto are not happy with their team, but it's hard not to feel for a guy like Morgan Rielly after seeing him like this.