Fifth-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft was one of top enforcers in game during his 16-year career, of which first seven years was spent with Blues
ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Reaves is dropping the gloves for the last time.
Literally.
No, he won't be throwing haymakers anymore, he's literally dropping the gloves on his hockey career for the last time.
A fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2005 NHL Draft, the 39-year-old announced his retirement from the NHL on his Instagram page after 16 seasons:
Reaves shared in his post:
Dear Hockey,
It’s hard to put into words what you meant to me. What you mean to me.
I had dreams of being an athlete. Football, hockey—it didn’t matter. I learned at a young age that I just wanted to lay people out. The physical part of sports was what I was always drawn to. I knew that’s what I wanted, but tell 10-year-old Reavo he was going to play in the NHL for 16 seasons? I don’t think he’d believe you.
It’s hard to make this league. It’s even harder to stay in it. For everything I put into my 16 years, the game gave me back x1,000.
But unfortunately, Father Time remains undefeated. Every hit, every fight—it’s taken its final toll on me. I love this sport more than almost anything in this world. It has taken me to places I never thought I’d go and has introduced me to people I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. The fans, the haters, the ups, the downs…I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I never thought this day would come. I thought I was invincible. I thought I could play forever, but like all good things, it must come to an end.
Today, I retire from the sport I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. It was a hell of a ride. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this journey. There are too many to single out, so you’ll hear from me at some point.
I may not be on the ice anymore, but I know I will always be close to hockey in one way or another.
You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today.
Mic drop, gloves drop.
Reavo out.
Reaves spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Blues, which included 419 of his 962 career games that included 27 goals and 24 assists; he was one of the toughest fighters in the game in his time and totaled 1,137 penalty minutes, 695 with the Blues.
Reaves was a fan favorite in St. Louis and was a tough customer when the mitts were dropped and/or there were fisticuffs on the ice; he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with a second-round pick in 2017 for Oskar Sundqvist and a 2017 first-round pick (No. 31, which the Blues used to draft Klim Kostin).
Reaves played for seven teams in his NHL career including the Blues and Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and last season with the San Jose Sharks.
He reached the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2017-18 when Vegas lost to the Washington Capitals.
Among some of fans' favorite Reaves moments included his blowing a kiss to the Dallas Stars bench during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs and his entrance on the ice when he and then-teammate Vladimir Tarasenko would twirl and shoulder bump on their knees as warm-ups began.
Or wearing the hot dog hat given to the player of the game:
Or my personal favorite, when he came out to a press conference trying to look like Blues coach Ken Hitchcock had everyone in the room rolling:
Whatever comes next for Reaves is up to him, but one would think he would make a terrific -- and funny -- studio analyst.
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