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Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign F Ryan Reaves (3 years, $1.3M AAV)

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francis246 said:
Just said they didn’t make adjustments that would have helped them win, it was inferred he was talking about Keefe.
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IMHO He talked mostly about the lack of response to Floridas physicality, not making it tough enough on Bob and establishing their presence in his crease like they had v Tampa, when he spoke about the adjustments needed he was talking about the Leafs lying back and taking it insted of the opposite, not necessarily Sheldon changing lines or who he was giving the ice time was to on the PP.
 
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Nick Foligno.
Wayne Simmonds.
Nick Ritchie.
Ilya Lybushkin.
Nicholas Aube-Kubel.
Noel Acciari.
Luke Schenn.
Jake McCabe.
Sam Lafferty.

"Finally this team has added toughness and won't be so gutless come the playoffs."

--

Trying not get too worked up by the deal itself as $1.3M is not a lot. It may even be below the buriable threshold at some point as the cap rises. But a 36yo goon should not be getting 3y. It says a bundle of where Treliving's head is at and it says he does not understand what is actually wrong with this team (not what the narrative says is bad). Not liking the direction of this team at the moment.
 
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CelticDruid said:
Thank you.


Thanks.

That's an eye opener but I'm not surprised.
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you're welcome and I suggest you listen to the interview, francis isnt wrong but his explanation doesn't cover it fully
ToneDog said:
So ROR chooses a team that is blowing it up over a SC contender. Does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling as a Leafs fan. Not a good look.
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maybe he needed more money to play in the big smoke, Nashville is a great place if you're into playing music, Toronto's music scene pales in comparison. One other thing is that I don't think he believes the Buds can win it all with the current construction in the dressing room, I don't think he saw enough character in some of the leaders, if Treliving was willing to make certain changes I think he would have stayed.
 
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Reaves ready to inject intensity, ‘a little swag’ into Maple Leafs lineup

3:41 | July 1, 2023

Ryan Reaves joins the Hockey Central panel to discuss his new deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, what he can bring to their locker room, and how excited he is to play with the Leafs’ big-name stars.
 
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Well a very quick exit from the playoffs if they make it that far. I doubt they make it but fingers and nuts crossed
 
torontosun.com

WILD THINGS: But will Minnesota teammates John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves make Leafs' heart sing as free-agent signings?

The first day of free agent shopping for new Leaf GM Brad Treliving is going to be a busy one as the market opens.
torontosun.com torontosun.com

There’s no doubt Winnipeg native Ryan Reaves will enliven the Leafs’ room and have their backs on the ice. The 36-year-old enforcer certainly fulfills a fourth-line need in terms of an everyday policeman, especially with Schenn not returning and with the little-used Wayne Simmonds not coming back.

But Reaves is a few years older than Simmonds, and has the eighth-highest penalty minutes of active NHLers, 1,023 in 828 games, though the lowest point total of that group at 129. Corey Perry, now with Chicago, Simmonds and Washington’s Tom Wilson are the three most penalized.

Early criticism of the deal on some social media platforms didn’t faze the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Reaves.

“Maybe I’ll go beat somebody up and all the pressure’s over,” Reaves joked on TSN. “Anybody in a different sweater is (on) that list."

“(Leafs) obviously have a lot of skill but not a lot of grit up front. They’ve had a lot of guys who’ve come and gone the last couple of years who maybe it just didn’t work."

“For a deep playoff run you need grit throughout the lineup, you just can’t have one guy. You need a couple up and down the lineup who can run around, intimidate the D and add that intensity to the series.”

Toronto has struggled in that area, losing so many series up to beating Tampa Bay, before losing to Florida.

“It’s not about the fighting in the playoffs for sure,” Reaves said. “It usually completely leaves. It’s more about the seven-day grind of running D into the boards, getting in people’s faces and letting them know every time they go back for that puck, no matter who is on the ice, you have a chance to get run. That can wear on you."

“I’m so excited, it’s an Original Six team that is trying to get over the hump. There’s a lot of firepower and I’m just looking to add a little swagger and a little grit."
 
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theathletic.com

Ryan Reaves to the Maple Leafs: What it says about Brad Treliving’s mindset

Brad Treliving appears willing to use his precious cap space to try to buy something his new team has never been able to earn on its own.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

There are two ways to look at the Maple Leafs signing Ryan Reaves to a three-year deal, after apparently making him one of their top priorities in free agency.

The first is that it’s a low-risk bet on a veteran who has a defined role and knows how to fill it. Reaves is as close as today’s NHL comes to an old-school enforcer, the guy who’s there to make sure the other team stays in line. He doesn’t have to fight to do that job, but he will, and opponents know it. The Maple Leafs have plenty of skill at the top of the lineup but they can be pushed around, and traditional hockey thinking says that means there needs to be some snarl at the bottom.

At three years and a $1.35 million cap hit, Reaves won’t crush the Leafs’ salary cap, especially as the ceiling rises over the next few years. And while he’s 36 years old, the skillset the Leafs are buying isn’t one that will diminish with age. If it doesn’t work, he didn’t cost all that much. If it does work, he could be one of the most popular players in Toronto, the Tie Domi for a new era.

That’s the positive spin. Are you buying it?

My sense is that a lot of Leaf fans aren’t. Others are seeing that too. And that brings us to the second way of looking at this move.

That version starts like this: Ryan Reaves isn’t good. Aside from the intimidation factor, he doesn’t do enough to deserve a spot in a contending team’s lineup. And while he can fight, he doesn’t do it as often as you think. Maybe he doesn’t need to and that’s the whole point. But he can’t protect the Leafs stars from Matthew Tkachuk and Tom Wilson unless he’s on the ice with him, and he won’t be. When the playoffs arrive and the temperature goes up, is he going to scare anyone while he’s stapled to the bench?

Well, maybe. That’s the bet the Leafs are making. And they’re not the first because whatever else you think of Reaves’ numbers, he’s played a lot of playoff hockey over the years, for several teams. This isn’t a guy who gets banished to the press box as soon as the playoffs start. He’s seen the second round, more than once, and that alone makes him an outlier on this Leafs team.
 
notbias said:
The year before, who did Colorado have like this?

Colorado is the last team to win without sitting 10 million out until game 1 of the playoff so they could load up.

I don't think Sam Bennett cares if Reaves is on our team honestly, he doesn't have to fight him and I don't think Reave is fast enough to lay too many big hits anymore

I just don't think he was needed. Sign someone like Aciarri or Hatheway who can actually play... they may not fight much but they are productive and hit people, which is actually intimidating.
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Granted Colorado did not have anyone like that, however Mackinnon, Kadri, Landeskog, and to a lesser extent Makar and Rantanen all had a compete level far above any of the Leafs star players. They had a distinct culture conducive to winning playoff hockey, the Leafs do not. Adding a player like Reaves maybe adds a little confidence to our big guns knowing they’re not sitting ducks after the whistle to guys like Maroon, Perry, Bennett etc. That’s just my take on it.
 
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