The 36-year-old, who signed a three-year deal with the Maple Leafs that carries an AAV of $1.35 million, spoke with the Toronto media for the first time on Sunday.

Ryan Reaves might bring the fisticuffs on the ice, but he's focused on making the Maple Leafs closer off of it.

When the 36-year-old met with the media for the first time on Sunday after signing with the Maple Leafs, he was asked about how his personality would fit with the players that are already in Toronto.

"I don't ever come into a locker room shy or quiet. I tend to come in and start chirping people right away," Reaves said with a smile.

"But off the ice, for me, I take that very seriously. I like to plan the parties, I like to get the boys together, I like getting them together on the road. If somebody tends to not come to events sometimes, I tend to just make sure everybody's there because it's really important. 

"The best teams I've been on are the teams that everybody is together all the time off the ice. The worst teams I've been on, you have little cliques that hang out together, and you never really get the full group together."

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Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke with the media on Saturday, following a busy first day of free agency. He spoke on a number of things, including the Reaves signing, and why he elected to lock up the 36-year-old to a three-year deal.

Treliving also spoke about Reaves' character and why he's going to be a fit in the Maple Leafs' dressing room.

The Maple Leafs will be the sixth team that Reaves has played on in his 13-year NHL career, but the first organization he's ever played for in Canada.

The 36-year-old Winnipeg, Manitoba native said his father was "excited" when he found out that Reaves would be playing in Canada. His father, Willard Reaves, was a running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 1980s.

"My dad doesn't really ever care where I go but I think he knows how much I want to win. When I called him and told him (he was signing in) Toronto, he was excited because he knows the type of team they have there.

"Obviously he was a legend in Winnipeg. Hopefully, I become a legend in Toronto. We'll see, but that starts with winning a cup. I think everybody will be a legend if we win a cup there."

But to win that Stanley Cup, Reaves needs to do everything he can to make the Maple Leafs as close as ever. And that's what he plans on doing.

"I've heard it's a great locker room so I think I'm just going to make sure that everybody is together all the time and dragging guys into whatever we need to do to feel like a complete team."

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