‘When You’re Not Performing Here, The Media Jumps On You’: Maple Leafs Enforcer Ryan Reaves Reflects on Past Season Struggles and the Pressure of Playing in Toronto
Reaves is entering the second season of his three-year, $4.05 million contract with the club.
After signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2023, veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves had high hopes of adding consistent intensity to a team known for its skill and creativity. However, the first half of his debut season in Toronto didn’t go as planned, and he struggled under the pressure of playing in such a demanding market. Reaves opened up about his experience on Tuesday during his appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast with Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette.
“It was hard for me at the beginning of the year because I was playing like s**t,” Reaves admitted. “When you are not performing here, the media jumps on you, the fans – who are sitting in their parents’ basement – they’re jumping on you.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpMZFVoCh78[/embed]
Reaves, known for his physical, hard-nosed style of play, found himself in unfamiliar territory last season as he struggled to make an impact early in the season.
“I went through a little bit of a tough stretch there where I couldn’t get anything going on the ice, I was getting scratched, and (thinking) ‘Everybody wants me out of here,’” he explained. “It was the first time I really experienced low confidence for a couple of months there. When I finally came back, I played better and it was kind of a tale of two seasons for me.”
He had touched on this feeling in the offseason as well, appearing on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill, describing his first season as “a rollercoaster.” Reaves posted a team-worst -11 rating through just 21 games, despite playing in fewer games than most of his teammates.
“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.”
“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.”
The forward’s season took another turn when he suffered a knee injury on December 14 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He would play just six games between December 3, 2023, and February 4, 2024, spending six weeks as a healthy scratch. However, when opportunity struck, the 37-year-old turned his season around when he was called upon following a Calle Jarnkrok hand injury – scoring in his return to the lineup.
“I came back and didn’t really look back; I just kind of stuck with it,” Reaves explained. “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.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMiwKNTSFcA[/embed]
Understanding the pressure and intensity of playing in the spotlight of the Toronto market, Reaves defended his teammate, jumping on co-host Bissonnette for his comments regarding Mitch Marner in the spring and the offseason.
“You can’t put a whole playoff series on one guy (Marner). It’s not like he was horrible. The points just weren’t coming for him,” he said. “I felt bad for him. Everybody was jumping on him. (Bissonette) was jumping on him… If I was around, I would’ve slapped the s**t out of you.”
Reaves played 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. Wrapping up his Spittin' Chiclets segment, Reaves emphasized his focus on building off the second half of his first season as he enters year two of his three-year, $4.05 million contract.
“Hopefully I’m going to start off where I ended and keep that going for the rest of the year.”
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