The Toronto Maple Leafs’ marriage with Ryan Reaves didn’t go as anyone hoped. Coveted for his physicality and hard-nosed presence, the veteran right winger showed the total effects of Father Time. He played just 84 games across the last two seasons and did not make a noticeable impact in his limited time on ice, totaling just eight points in that span. When the team placed him on waivers in March, the writing was on the wall.
That omen got here to fruition on July 10, when the Leafs traded Reaves to the San Jose Sharks for young defenseman Henry Thrun. It was time for each parties to go in separate directions. The 38-year-old sought a fresh start, clearly unhappy together with his role on the squad. He explained his reasoning for wanting out, just days after landing on his seventh different NHL franchise.
“I feel there was just an absence of trust very early within the season,” Reaves told TSN reporter Mark Masters. “It just looked like {if} I had one bad game, I used to be out of the lineup for 4, five, six, seven, eight, nine games. I’d come back in {and} have a superb game, but {get} taken right back out. I just really could never gain any momentum with my game.
“And it’s hard to play like that. It’s hard to play while you’re only playing every five, six games. They didn’t see a fit for me within the lineup, and it’s what it’s. That is also a part of the business.”
Ryan Reaves, Maple Leafs trudge ahead after trade
Toronto general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube had a vision, and Reaves was clearly not a very important a part of it. An aging enforcer must change the energy in the sector when he’s given the chance to skate. The 2005 fifth-round draft pick, who has played 912 NHL games in 15 years, didn’t appear to satisfy that standard as often because the Maple Leafs preferred. He told Treliving he wished to go elsewhere at the tip of the season.
Considering that Reaves finished the 12 months within the AHL and didn’t dress for the Leafs through the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a split appeared to be in the perfect interest of all involved. Perhaps the Sharks will place more value on the forward’s present talents. They’ve prioritized experience this summer, adding players who’ve been across the block just a few times.
Ryan Reaves could possibly be exactly what San Jose is on the lookout for on this stage of its rebuild. While he remains to be unlikely to be a workhorse, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native should receive more playing time. While he begins this latest and possibly final chapter of his NHL profession, Toronto moves toward what it hopes is an invigorating era of Maple Leafs hockey.