The Toronto Maple Leafs traded Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, in exchange for Henry Thrun.
Reaves is 38 years old, and has played over 900 NHL games across 15 years. The forward has spent the last two seasons with the Maple Leafs, and has one yr remaining on his contract, at $1.35 million.
Thrun, however, is a 24-year-old left-handed defenseman. Thrun has spent the last two seasons with the Sharks, since making the jump to skilled hockey from the NCAA. He has one yr remaining on his contract at a $1 million cap hit.
Below is a have a look at what each team is getting with the trade.
Why the Maple Leafs moved Ryan Reaves
Signed in 2023, Reaves was delivered to Toronto to assist add some physicality and toughness down the lineup. While he won’t provide any offense, Reaves is a hard-hitting, fourth-line forward who adds an intimidation factor.
With the Maple Leafs though, Reaves struggled to be a consistent member of the lineup. The forward played just 84 games with the team over his time in Toronto and ended up on waivers last season. Because of this, he wasn’t more likely to factor into the team’s plans heading into the 2025-26 season.
With Reaves unlikely to crack the lineup, there was a very good likelihood he was going to find yourself within the AHL this season. Nevertheless, his cap hit was too high to bury, meaning the Maple Leafs would still have a little bit of it counted towards the salary cap regardless. In trading Reaves, the Maple Leafs shed a little bit of salary, and part with a forward who wasn’t more likely to have much of a job this season.
How Reaves helps the Sharks
While Reaves may not have factored into the Maple Leafs’ plans, he could get a greater opportunity in San Jose. Whereas the Maple Leafs are still attempting to contend, the Sharks are clearly constructing for the longer term.
While the Sharks are putting the pieces together to be a powerhouse down the road, they’re still a really young team. With the likes of Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund and Will Smith leading the way in which, adding Reaves gives the team’s young stars a little bit of protection.
Plus, the Sharks aren’t really concerned about salary cap implications at this point. In truth, the main focus is more so on ensuring they reach the cap floor than the cap ceiling. So Reaves’ $1.35M cap hit really doesn’t have any negative consequences.
Because it stands, the Sharks’ bottom-six also wasn’t poised to create much offense in any case. Bringing Reaves into the lineup doesn’t necessarily take away much in the shape of scratching another person.
Ultimately, if Reaves could make the Sharks a bit tougher to play against, then he’ll have done his job in San Jose.
Why the Sharks moved Henry Thrun
On the surface, this trade may very well be a little bit of a head-scratcher for the Sharks. They’re parting with a 24-year-old defender with some upside for a fourth-line, 38-year-old forward who won’t produce.
At the identical time, like Reaves in Toronto, Thrun likely didn’t factor into his team’s plans. He’s gotten a possibility to solidify a spot for himself in San Jose over the past couple seasons, but the outcomes were mixed. Thrun didn’t necessarily take major offensive steps and couldn’t establish a giant role on a weak blue line.
This offseason, the Sharks brought in some veterans. The team signed Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg, after which claimed Nick Leddy off waivers. Meanwhile, Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren may even return, taking two of the remaining spots on the blue line, and Vincent Desharnais stays under contract.
Plus, the Sharks have several other young defensemen who will probably be searching for a bigger role. Jack Thompson and Shakir Mukhamadullin each played 30 games with the Sharks last season, and will probably be vying for normal playing time. Sam Dickinson also likely is not far off from making the jump to the NHL.
So while Thrun actually has more upside than Reaves, he wasn’t more likely to get much of a job in San Jose.
How Thrun helps the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs’ blue line is already set, but Thrun can act as a seventh or eighth defender. Plus, at just 24 years old, there’s the possibility he can still grow his game. While it seems less likely that he’ll be an impact defender, if there’s an injury on the blue line, he could potentially get a possibility.
On the flip side, he comes with a rather cheaper cap hit. At just $1 million, it’s kind of lower than Reaves’ number and Thrun is a more likely bet to take a roster spot than Reaves would have been.
Plus, if Thrun finally ends up not factoring into the team’s NHL roster, the Maple Leafs would have the ability to bury the total cap hit. Because of this, each from an upside and salary basis, the deal is smart for the team.
Trade Grades
While neither team is getting substantial value from the trade, it is a move that works for each side.
For the Sharks, they get a player in Reaves who can add a unique element to their forward group. He won’t consider long-term, but may help to guard to Sharks’ young stars.
Sharks Grade: B
For the Maple Leafs, they move on from a player who likely would not have cracked the roster. Meanwhile, they get back a less expensive, younger defender who could still possibly grow his game in the approaching years.
Maple Leafs Grade: B+