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

[Fogelhund]

We have refused to draft them for the previous half decade.

Ok... list all the good power NHL forwards drafted in the last half decade, that we should have chosen over guys we did.

 

[ACC1224]

Wondering though, if Matthews wrists are that fragile maybe he shouldn't be taking faceoffs.

 

[LeafEgo]

It doesn't work. It's a myth that gets perpetuated because some people prefer a more violent style of play, and want to justify that prioritization that hurts team quality.
If somebody who would do something wants to do something, they'll do something. They don't care who's on the other side.

This is a gross misunderstanding of how humans operate in a competitive environment. Focusing on Reaves in a vacuum is losing sight of the forest.

In the playoffs, we have seen teams, clear as day, decide it is in their best interests to prioritize a physical game and get nasty - amp things up, strike fear, and do damage. And we've seen that strategy work.

With Reaves, and other additions, teams may decide amping things up should be done with caution and focus on other parts of the game, considering the importance of longevity through the tournament, and of course, just generally be concerned about the collective response at a human level.

There's always a trade off, perhaps we lose some skill with Malgin not taking up that spot, but you're best bet is striking the right balance.

Reaves is a part of a broader strategy to counter other parts of the game we have been missing. Half our cap goes to four people who don't bring physicality, so we have a Reaves at the bottom instead of a Wilson at the top. Gotta have something and start somewhere.

 

[Dreakmur]

The vulnerable position I am talking about is something like being hit from behind, which won't change by having goons on the team.

There are many vulnerable positions, and the vast majority of players worry about them.

I'd say most men don't care about the deterrent of Reaves... anyone who he is going to try to fight is someone who wouldn't be deterred.

99 percent of men would be terrified to face Reaves in a physical confrontation. A fair fight isn’t the only way he intimidates people.

This convo is pointless though.

Reaves will be most effective for the team if he has a hard forecheck, if he can be effective there, I welcome him and will say I was wrong about it being a dumb signing... the rest of his "skills" are pointless.

Even being played sparingly, Reaves leads all forwards in hits over the last 5 seasons.

 

[notbias]

99 percent of men would be terrified to face Reaves in a physical confrontation. A fair fight isn’t the only way he intimidates people.

Disagree... this isn't Scott Stevens... People are really making Reaves out to be scarier than he is.

There are probably 30 guys in the league who'd probably actually fight Reaves, and he is not some crazy hitter... I really don't understand what you're saying, but I disagree completely that people are scared of him. Like I said, I think most people are more scared of Domi since he is insane, Reaves still lives by the code a little... look at his fight card.

Even being played sparingly, Reaves leads all forwards in hits over the last 5 seasons.

There is a reason why you chose 5 years... there is a trend happening in his game.

5 seasons - T1st
4 seasons - 3rd
3 seasons - 7th
2 seasons - 8th
1 season - 18th

This could be for a lot of reasons, but good cherry-picking.

 

[egd27]

Stamkos isn't going to change a single thing he does, Reaves or not. Stamkos also isn't going to fight Reaves, or likely ever even be on the ice with him.
Heck, in that situation, Reaves would probably be in the press box anyway.

You really don't have any idea of how it works.
Reaves doesn't threaten to fight Stamkos, he tells Stamkos what will happen to one of his teammates if he personally steps out of line. And on a real team, a leader doesn't put one his own guys in harm's way and keeps his nose clean.

 

[Racer88]

You really don't have any idea of how it works.
Reaves doesn't threaten to fight Stamkos, he tells Stamkos what will happen to one of his teammates if he personally steps out of line. And on a real team, a leader doesn't put one his own guys in harm's way and keeps his nose clean.

Or Reeves just jumps him and starts wailing on him…….my preference of course.
Batter up…….

 

[BertCorbeau]

Watched some videos of Reaves hits...I will say the guy does not hesitate to take out other team's best which is a welcome sight.

Our guys get targeted all the time.

What's the over/under on the number of games until he gets a suspension?

 

[Ianturnedbull]

This is a gross misunderstanding of how humans operate in a competitive environment. Focusing on Reaves in a vacuum is losing sight of the forest.

In the playoffs, we have seen teams, clear as day, decide it is in their best interests to prioritize a physical game and get nasty - amp things up, strike fear, and do damage. And we've seen that strategy work.

With Reaves, and other additions, teams may decide amping things up should be done with caution and focus on other parts of the game, considering the importance of longevity through the tournament, and of course, just generally be concerned about the collective response at a human level.

There's always a trade off, perhaps we lose some skill with Malgin not taking up that spot, but you're best bet is striking the right balance.

Reaves is a part of a broader strategy to counter other parts of the game we have been missing. Half our cap goes to four people who don't bring physicality, so we have a Reaves at the bottom instead of a Wilson at the top. Gotta have something and start somewhere.

Good read.

Agreed.

 

[Dekes For Days]

In the playoffs, we have seen teams, clear as day, decide it is in their best interests to prioritize a physical game and get nasty - amp things up, strike fear, and do damage.

Not any more than any other team experiences. Heck, we've dished out some pretty big hits and done some damage ourselves.
And the point is Reaves isn't going to change a thing about whatever you think happens.
A team is not going to change their game plan because we have Reaves.
A player who thinks it is in the team's best interest to play a certain way isn't going to stop playing a certain way.
A player who would cheapshot and try to injure players is going to continue cheapshotting and trying to injure players.
These are top tier professional athletes, and anybody playing that way especially is going to know how to take a 10 second fight against a better fighter (assuming it's not immediately broken up), and accept that as a potential part of their job. It's not going to change their job. They're not scared of Reaves, no matter how much some people here want them to be, or think they would be because they themselves would be.

And we've seen that strategy work.

No we haven't. That's not why we've lost. In fact, we've been most hurt in the playoffs over the years by our players doing that.

Reaves is a part of a broader strategy to counter other parts of the game we have been missing.

That's not what we've been missing, and we're literally less tough than last year.

Half our cap goes to four people who don't bring physicality

Matthews brings plenty of physicality. And the actual useful kind.

Reaves doesn't threaten to fight Stamkos, he tells Stamkos what will happen to one of his teammates if he personally steps out of line.

And what exactly is going to happen to his teammates if he "steps out of line"?
Is he going to tell them he's going to give them a little slappy slap and a free PP?
Is he going to yell down these threats from the press box?
I'm sure Stamkos and his teammates are going to be so scared and just go hide in the corner for the rest of the series, shaking.

 

[geo25]

Not any more than any other team experiences. Heck, we've dished out some pretty big hits and done some damage ourselves.
And the point is Reaves isn't going to change a thing about whatever you think happens.
A team is not going to change their game plan because we have Reaves.
A player who thinks it is in the team's best interest to play a certain way isn't going to stop playing a certain way.
A player who would cheapshot and try to injure players is going to continue cheapshotting and trying to injure players.
These are top tier professional athletes, and anybody playing that way especially is going to know how to take a 10 second fight against a better fighter (assuming it's not immediately broken up), and accept that as a potential part of their job. It's not going to change their job. They're not scared of Reaves, no matter how much some people here want them to be, or think they would be because they themselves would be.

No we haven't. That's not why we've lost. In fact, we've been most hurt in the playoffs over the years by our players doing that.

That's not what we've been missing, and we're literally less tough than last year.

Matthews brings plenty of physicality. And the actual useful kind.

And what exactly is going to happen to his teammates if he "steps out of line"?
Is he going to tell them he's going to give them a little slappy slap and a free PP?
Is he going to yell down these threats from the press box?
I'm sure Stamkos and his teammates are going to be so scared and just go hide in the corner for the rest of the series, shaking.

I'd rather have Reaves in my lineup than not....pretty sure his team mates feel the same. Your opinion is just that....your opinion.

 

[Dekes For Days]

I'd rather have Reaves in my lineup than not....pretty sure his team mates feel the same.

I, and professional hockey players, would rather have a player who can help win hockey games in my lineup.

 

[geo25]

I, and professional hockey players, would rather have a player who can help win hockey games in my lineup.

A guy like Reaves helps both with making room for everyone, having cheap artists think twice & inspiring confidence. I beg to differ....

 

[Dekes For Days]

A guy like Reaves helps both with making room for everyone, having cheap artists think twice & inspiring confidence. I beg to differ....

A guy likes Reaves doesn't help us win. No cheap shot artist is going to think twice about anything they're doing, let alone for Reaves (if he's even in the lineup).
He's more likely to hurt us, by continuing to be one of the worst players in the league, getting penalties and misconducts, and if anything, riling up our opponents and creating more dangerous environments, not safer ones.

 

[ACC1224]

I'd rather have Reaves in my lineup than not....pretty sure his team mates feel the same. Your opinion is just that....your opinion.

Of course they feel the same way, all players do that is a certainty. There is a reason that GMs all over the league bring in these types of players. They don’t do it because they are out of touch with what the team wants/needs.
Reeves will be one of the most popular guys amongst his teammates just like Simmonds and Matt Martin were. This is indisputable.

 

[geo25]

A guy likes Reaves doesn't help us win. No cheap shot artist is going to think twice about anything they're doing, let alone for Reaves (if he's even in the lineup).
He's more likely to hurt us, by continuing to be one of the worst players in the league, getting penalties and misconducts, and if anything, riling up our opponents and creating more dangerous environments, not safer ones.

Like I said, I beg to differ. He adds a dimension to this team we sorrily lack. This team is butter soft and will go no where in the playoffs - if they even make it. They slso lack charactet and fighting spirit which this guy has in spades.

 

[Dekes For Days]

He adds a dimension to this team we sorrily lack.

He adds a dimension to this team that we've had other years. It changes nothing.

 

[geo25]

He adds a dimension to this team that we've had other years. It changes nothing.

We'll see....

 

[All Mod Cons]

What's the over/under on the number of games until he gets a suspension?

What does that matter? Spezza gpt suspended. Matthews got suspended. It is probably not in our best interest to stay away from guys like Matthews because he will get suspended.

 

[notbias]

This is a gross misunderstanding of how humans operate in a competitive environment. Focusing on Reaves in a vacuum is losing sight of the forest.

In the playoffs, we have seen teams, clear as day, decide it is in their best interests to prioritize a physical game and get nasty - amp things up, strike fear, and do damage. And we've seen that strategy work.

With Reaves, and other additions, teams may decide amping things up should be done with caution and focus on other parts of the game, considering the importance of longevity through the tournament, and of course, just generally be concerned about the collective response at a human level.

There's always a trade off, perhaps we lose some skill with Malgin not taking up that spot, but you're best bet is striking the right balance.

Reaves is a part of a broader strategy to counter other parts of the game we have been missing. Half our cap goes to four people who don't bring physicality, so we have a Reaves at the bottom instead of a Wilson at the top. Gotta have something and start somewhere.

We had a tougher team than Tampa one year and one of our players got suspended in the first 5 minutes.

This isn't the first time we have tried to add some grit.

I think this signing is largely nothing... it isn't the worst signing, although I do think it is bad/pointless, but the team won't win or lose by the signing, we may just end up losing someone like Timmins because of it.

Also, wasn't this the year that Tampa was trying to amp up the roughness... a lot of good that did them, Jeannot was their worst player and he was brought in to do what Reaves does but with more skill.

What other additions did we add that focus on this?

Domi is crazy, not physical.
Bertuzzi is a rat.

Treliving did this in Calgary and it didn't help much.

The most exciting thing I've heard from Reaves (assuming I am remembering right) is he dropped some weight and was focusing on getting quicker. He could be effective on the forecheck, right now, until I see this improved speed out of him, I just think we overpaid someone who should be in the pressbox.

 

[Bomber0104]

Not a big fan of the term on a player like Reaves at this stage in his career, but agree with the overall philosophy.

Trev was obviously in the hunt for some toughness, and got what looks to be his second or third choice after Gudas and Lucic.

 

[BertCorbeau]

What does that matter? Spezza gpt suspended. Matthews got suspended. It is probably not in our best interest to stay away from guys like Matthews because he will get suspended.

Relax. It’s a tongue in cheek comment against DOPS.

 

[Nineteen67]

We had a tougher team than Tampa one year and one of our players got suspended in the first 5 minutes.

This isn't the first time we have tried to add some grit.

I think this signing is largely nothing... it isn't the worst signing, although I do think it is bad/pointless, but the team won't win or lose by the signing, we may just end up losing someone like Timmins because of it.

Also, wasn't this the year that Tampa was trying to amp up the roughness... a lot of good that did them, Jeannot was their worst player and he was brought in to do what Reaves does but with more skill.

What other additions did we add that focus on this?

Domi is crazy, not physical.
Bertuzzi is a rat.

Treliving did this in Calgary and it didn't help much.

The most exciting thing I've heard from Reaves (assuming I am remembering right) is he dropped some weight and was focusing on getting quicker. He could be effective on the forecheck, right now, until I see this improved speed out of him, I just think we overpaid someone who should be in the pressbox.

They haven’t been tougher than Tampa in a long long time.

 

[notbias]

They haven’t been tougher than Tampa in a long long time.

They were tougher than Tampa in the series with Clifford/Simmonds... unless players down the lineup don't make a team tougher, and then I don't know why anyone is happy about this signing.

 

[All Mod Cons]

Relax. It’s a tongue in cheek comment against DOPS.

Reeves will have more respect from DOPS than any other player we have, especially tools like Bunting.