Ryan Reaves used a long stretch as a healthy scratch to everything he could to live up to be what the Toronto Maple Leafs have wanted him to be.
Ryan Reaves used a long stretch as a healthy scratch to everything he could to live up to be what the Toronto Maple Leafs have wanted him to be.
Ryan Reaves will always tell you how it is. Whether he's talking about someone else, or himself, the Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer will deliver the truth.
And the truth was in the first part of the season, the forward just didn't have his game. It left many wondering how big of a mistake it was by first-year Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving to hand the 37-year-old a $4.05 million contract this past summer.
From Dec. 3, 2023, to Feb. 4, 2024, Reaves only played in six games. Some of it was for an injury where he popped his knee out of place, but he was mostly scratched. Not selected for games.
A hand injury to Calle Jarnkrok finally allowed Reaves to get back into the lineup after a six-week absence. He took advantage of it, scoring a goal in his hometown of Winnipeg.
"I think that month and a half that I was out, I used that as a mini training camp. I worked hard, I bagged, I worked on everything that I could. I was doing two or three a day sometimes, just trying to get confidence back," Reaves said following his team's 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. "Confidence is a real thing, that's the first time I've probably gone through something like that in my career where I just felt like nothing was going right and I just felt like I had no confidence. I just used that opportunity to try and build it back. Coming off the break, it felt like my game started getting a little bit better and then I just kept building on it ever since."
"Reaves has since become a staple on the team's fourth line, occasionally coming out on the back end of back-to-back games, but mostly earning his keep. On Wednesday, he was engaged in a fight with Tampa's Tanner Jeannot. Outside of that, Reaves has made himself a pest in front of the net, something the Leafs wanted more of from the veteran.
"Compared to the beginning of the season, it's been night and day. It's what they've expected out of me the whole season." Reaves added. "I'm glad that that's clicking, I'm glad that the line's clicking, I'm playing more physical. We've had our chances in the offensive zone, Davie scored one last game. I'm happy with it, I'm going to keep building on it and hopefully bring that same energy into the playoffs."
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That begs the question on if Reaves expects he'll be in the lineup for Game 1. The team is playing without forwards Mitch Marner and Calle Jarnkrok. Once both return, that could squeeze out either Reaves or perhaps one of four of the younger players around him.
It'll be a tough call, but as long as Reaves continues to live up to what was advertised, his playoff intensity might be too valuable to keep away from the lineup.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nyAmLcYyEc[/embed]
"Tonight was by far and away the most physical he's been in terms of just being able to get there on time, make the contacts, that I thought really set a tone in the game," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Reaves' game. "And then not just that, but we also got pucks back. And he's getting to the net front. That line's shooting pucks, like that line was a real highlight for us in that first period.
"And Revo was leading the charge. So, that's terrific to see. I thought it wasn't just that. I just thought after the whistles, too, he was a really strong presence in the game. And then, obviously, you know, handles himself extremely well in the fight. So, you know, all those things, he certainly did his job tonight."
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