Opinion: Maple Leafs' Reaves Says 'Make Hockey Violent Again,' But the Sport's Better Without It
Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves felt Morgan Rielly's high cross-check in response to Ridly Greig's empty-net goal was appropriate and that hockey should be "violent again." Adam Proteau says hockey's entertainment factor rises without violent reactions.
The fallout from Saturday’s incident involving Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly and Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig continued Monday.
Rielly’s stick-check against Greig for taking a slapshot on an empty net continues to be debated, with the defenseman awaiting an in-person hearing with the NHL player safety department on Tuesday. Maple Leafs enforcer and Rielly’s teammate, Ryan Reaves, spoke out about it. He told reporters he felt Rielly's response was appropriate and that just a push wouldn't send a message.
"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," Reaves told media.
"Make hockey violent again – get that tattooed on me," he added.
Reaves’ comment romanticizing a bygone era for the NHL will resonate with some people, but the reality is that hockey’s top league has had very good reason to move away from violent activity in favor of relatively reasonable expectations regarding player behavior. Advocating something like rescinding the NHL’s instigator rule would be a self-serving suggestion by Reaves, and while we understand why that sentiment resonates with certain individuals, there’s no going back to that era.
Indeed, hockey has disposed of single-role players like enforcers, and the game is better for it. The NHL is now far less over-the-top when it comes to violence, and the on-ice product has never been more popular. If violence were intrinsically linked to the sport, we’d see long lineups of consumers demanding a ticket refund after every game that didn’t include a fight or physical incident similar to Rielly’s high cross-check on Greig. The game doesn’t need that element to prosper.
The truth is, it never needed it. And the further we move away from past eras, the more we see hockey’s overall entertainment factor rise to new levels. People come to the rinks and tune in on TV to see which team scores more goals than their opponent and some quality plays, not a dancing-bear routine, especially when we realize with every passing day that there’s a long-term, tremendous price that’s paid by enforcer types.
It’s easy to harrumph about the past and cry out for a return to what’s perceived as glory days. It’s harder to acknowledge the game has evolved to a better era and to understand how we got here. Having a catchy phrase like “make hockey violent again” might tickle the fancy of a subset of hockey watchers, but it’s not going to bring in new fans.
The line's been drawn regarding what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and the evolution of the sport makes it clear that the days of vigilante justice and fighting just for the hell of it are long over. If that draws the ire of Reaves and people like him, so be it.