‘I Just Started Eating Dashes Like It Was My Job’: Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves Looks Back on Rough Beginning of Tenure in Toronto
Reaves scored four goals and added two assists in his first season of a three-year, $4.05 million contract with the club.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves’ first season with the club was nothing short of a rollercoaster. Signed to a three-year, $4.05 million contract by general manager Brad Treliving, the veteran enforcer had high hopes for his tenure in Toronto, and the tumultuous feeling was mutual between Leafs nation. However, the season began far from smoothly.
On the newest episode of Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill, the two had the opportunity to discuss Reaves’ rocky season with the man himself – where he opened up on his bumpy start in Toronto.
“It was a rollercoaster for me, honestly,” Reaves said. “I thought I had a really good training camp, one of my better training camps to be honest, and you know the first two games I thought I played well. All of a sudden, I just started eating dashes like it was my job.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFeVu8Y_V8[/embed]
For starters, the term “dashes” refers to plus/minus, in which through 21 games, Reaves had a -11 rating – marking the worst on the team despite playing in half as many games as most of his teammates. Offensively, he had a lone goal to his name with his play on the fourth line. Seemingly, the unfortunate bounces continued to spiral into more negatives, preventing him from sustaining any positive momentum to build from.
“I couldn’t do anything about it. I stepped on the ice, and I ate a dash. Somebody toe picks, I ate a dash,” Reaves explained. “A couple were my fault and it just kind of snowballed from there; it was just a tough time for me. When you’re eating dashes like that, it’s hard for a coach to trust you whether it’s your fault or not.”
Reaves suffered a knee injury on December 14 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, only leading to more problems in finding his way back into the lineup. Along the timeline of December 3, 2023, to February 4, 2024, Reaves only appeared in six games.
Although he was healthy, he found himself as a consistent scratch for six weeks. During this long stretch of not playing, the 37-year-old was doing everything he could to turn his game around.
“I used that break, and once I was healthy but was still on IR (injured reserve), I really used that as a mini-training camp to get back into shape and work on things while I had the opportunity. When I wasn’t playing, I was doing extra bag skates, going on early, staying on late, just doing everything I could so that when I did get an opportunity, I’d be ready.”
And that opportunity would come. After Calle Jarnkrok suffered a hand injury, Reaves was inserted back into the lineup. This ended up being the turning point for the enforcer, who scored a goal in his hometown of Winnipeg.
“Jarnkrok broke his hand in practice and I ended up getting back in for that Winnipeg game, right before the all-star break, and scoring in that game was a big confidence boost,” said Reaves.
“I came back and didn’t really look back; I just kind of stuck with it. I felt when I came back into the lineup, I thought I played pretty well. Obviously, the points weren’t there but I was back to playing physical, getting my fights, in people’s faces, on the forecheck, and wasn’t eating the dashes anymore. It was a tale of two seasons for me, and hopefully, it’s more of the second half next year.”
Due to his personality and playstyle, he emerged as a fan favorite in the latter half of the season. Reaves ended up playing in five of the seven games in the Leafs’ opening-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins, tallying an assist. In 49 regular season games, he finished with four goals, two assists, and a -13 rating.
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