Former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves retires from professional hockey at 39 years old.
Longtime NHL enforcer Ryan Reaves announced his retirement from professional hockey on social media on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old, a former member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, wrote a long note to the sport he loves through an Instagram post.
The right winger played 16 seasons in the NHL, featuring in a total of 962 regular-season games and 113 playoff games.
With the Maple Leafs, he played two seasons, in 2023-24 and 2024-25. He scored a total of four goals and eight points in 84 games with Toronto, which marked two of the three final years of his career.
Of course, Reaves wasn't known for finding his teammates with a pass or putting the puck in the back of the net. He was known for sticking up for teammates and dropping the gloves.
He recorded 77 penalty minutes with the Maple Leafs, for a total of 1,137 penalty minutes in his NHL career. Reaves also had eight regular-season fights with the Blue and White, according to HockeyFights.
"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," Reaves wrote in his retirement post.
"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. 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," he added.
"Mic drop, gloves drop. Reavo out."
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