The Toronto Maple Leafs can’t afford to stand still, that much is clear. David Alter reveals why the time was right for Ryan Reaves to leave.
The Ryan Reaves era in Toronto officially came to an end last week when the Toronto Maple Leafs traded the veteran forward for young defenseman Henry Thrun. When the Leafs signed Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million contract in the summer of 2023, the term of the deal drew criticism from many observers given what he would contribute at his age (He was 26 at the time of signing). However, it was evident Reaves was only coming to Toronto if he could get that third year.
From the very beginning, Reaves wasn’t shy in expressing his opinions. Brought in to bring some personality into the locker room, his first memorable quote came at the club’s annual golf tournament in September 2023. Reaves was asked about the now famous photo of then-Florida Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas standing over Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll and shouting in his face as Nick Cousins scored the overtime series clincher.
“I hope he tries that,” Reaves said with a grin. “I doubt there’s going to be any of that here”.
From that point on, his unfiltered opinions were often front and center.
When Morgan Rielly was suspended for five games for his cross-check to the head of Ottawa Senators defenseman Ridly Greig, and though Rielly had not yet received his discipline, Reaves offered honest thoughts on the incident anyway.
“I thought it was appropriate,” Reaves said of Rielly’s actions. “I don’t see how a kid that young thinks it’s appropriate to do something like that.” Reaves continued, “I thought ‘Good on Mo.’ Hopefully it’s not too harsh on him and I don’t think it should be.”
He further elaborated on his frustration with the evolving game: “These young kids these days, they’re playing a different brand of hockey than I’m used to. The code has changed a little bit. The game has changed a lot and it’s unfortunate that a young kid like that can get away with something like that and then one of our best players is going to get suspended for it. Make hockey violent again, get that tattooed on me”.
Reaves wasn’t shy about voicing his frustrations when he sustained a knee injury in the same season. Despite fully recovering from the injury, the Leafs kept him on long-term injured reserve, even though the player admitted he had been healthy for “weeks”.
During the 2024-25 season, Reaves was placed on waivers and subsequently sent to the Toronto Marlies. Reaves eventually played in three games with the AHL club, but when the season ended, he spoke with Toronto GM Brad Treliving and expressed a desire to be moved.
“There was just a lack of trust very early in the season,” Reaves told reporters on a Zoom call last week. “I had one bad game and was out of the lineup for four, five, six, seven, eight, nine games. I’d come back in, have a good game, but was taken right back out. I really could never gain any momentum or traction. And it’s hard to play like that. It’s hard to play when you’re only playing every five, six games. They didn’t see a fit for me in the lineup, and it is what it is. That’s also part of the business”.
It also didn’t help Reaves’ cause that one month into the season, he was suspended for five games for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.
At the end of the day, Reaves and the Leafs needed to part ways. While he was a refreshing source of quotes off the ice, if he wasn’t going to be in Berube’s plans as an everyday player, he was better suited to be elsewhere. Burying Reaves in the Marlies cost the Leafs a $200k salary cap charge that is now removed. The Leafs aim to play a tougher and more physical game. Yet, of Toronto’s 19 fighting majors last season, Reaves contributed just one.