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

[ACC1224]

Well said. It's just so sad how Jonas can't hold back. He has no ability to write about the leafs in any emotionally disassociated way. He hates the thought of fighting and an enforcers' role in hockey.

Many who have never played feel the same way.

 

[Its not your fault]

The only issue, is right now we are likely running 11-7 and can't carry any extra players.

Even if we bury him, the 200k over doesn't allow us to.

It's not a huge deal, but the overpayment does lead to some annoyances.

Heard that almost we get to burry goes up in next few years.

 

[kb]

Gudas is 33 I would bet my money on him vs older Lucic and Reaves

How to admit to an entire board that you dont have the first clue about toughness and fighting skills.

Bold stuff to admit publicly.

 

[Arzak]

How to admit to an entire board that you dont have the first clue about toughness and fighting skills.

Bold stuff to admit publicly.

On my defense, the same way you are now predicting Reaves to beat Gudas people thought Iginla will beat the shit out of him.

As far as my fighting credentials I did a bit of karate, switched to kickboxing, competed for years, and got my referee license once I was done fighting.

I was paid for judging peoples boxing and kickboxing matches !

 

[LeafSteel]

Jonas keeps going on about how the Leafs have “tried this before,” the this being adding grit and personality to the lineup to try and shift the culture. While that’s half true, I think there’s a big difference in how this new group has more “f*** you” energy than previous attempts at adding grit.

Schenn was great and O’Reilly had character, but those guys were more honourable in their grittiness, more reactive than proactive. Acciari was a pinball out there but again, not instigating the scrums. The closest we got to this level of assholery was 2021, but Thornton and Simmonds were both old and mostly useless, Foligno’s back was shot to hell, and Nash may as well have not even existed. Bogosian was fine but as we all know he ran back to America following that season, and Muzzin was also more of a protector than an aggressor, and he got injured near the end of that cursed series.

To me, this latest attempt at changing the culture has clearly put more emphasis on guys who will cause the mischief on the ice. Bertuzzi, Domi, and Reaves will “drag the Leafs into the fight” as Steve Dangle puts it. McCabe is also a jerk and Klingberg is understatedly one himself, so they’ll be part of that as well. Rielly, Lafferty, and Giordano have already shown willingness to stick up for themselves and fight in defence of their teammates, if this new batch of grit can encourage more of the team to play more aggressive and have more of a pack mentality that’ll be huge. And they’ll have a full year to do it, instead of a few games after the TDL to get acclimated.

1. Jonas is an idiot.
2. Dubas did not value grit and only brought it in at the behest of Shanahan. He really didn’t know how to put together a gritty team. His approach was to add a couple of hard-nosed players. A couple isn’t enough. You need it throughout the lineup. Treliving understands how to assemble a hard to play against team and we see it already.
3. Jonas is an idiot.
4. Toughness in the lineup makes everyone play bigger.
5. Unlike Dubas’ helter skelter and half assed approach to adding grit, Treliving has brought a level of assholery to our lineup that we haven’t had since we iced Corson, Tucker, Domi, Robert’s……. You know, when we beat teams on the ice and in the alley.
6. Jonas is an idiot.

 

[Hellcat]

Many who have never played feel the same way.

Yup many who have never been punched in the face, have an opinion on how ineffective it is to get punched in the face, they just dont understand how much a punch in the face is an effective deterrent for many. My buddy is a retired professional MMA fighter, when he was competing, I've had the unfortunate experience of having to spar with him, Men who train to hurt other men, know where and how to punch to get the most bang for their punch and I can tell you from experience, when those eyes water, the knees get week and you have a come to Jesus moment. Most normal people think twice about doing what got them to that point in their life, where their poor decision got them to the point of getting punched in the head. Will Reeves presence eliminate every Bennett moment no, will it make the other team play smaller, yes absolutely, some of our opponents will play smaller.

The argument is always, well goons dont prevent all cheap shots, which is true, but that is an insane disingenuous standard to set. That's is like saying Vasilivesky does not stop every shot so what's the point of having him vs having a $750k goalie? The standard should not be all or nothing, the standard should be does he help our stars play bigger, does he help our team indirectly win games? End of the day I think he makes $1.35 mil which I think is 100% burryable, if he happens to suck the life out of our team send him to the Marlies.

1. Jonas is an idiot.
2. Dubas did not value grit and only brought it in at the behest of Shanahan. He really didn’t know how to put together a gritty team. His approach was to add a couple of hard-nosed players. A couple isn’t enough. You need it throughout the lineup. Treliving understands how to assemble a hard to play against team and we see it already.
3. Jonas is an idiot.
4. Toughness in the lineup makes everyone play bigger.
5. Unlike Dubas’ helter skelter and half assed approach to adding grit, Treliving has brought a level of assholery to our lineup that we haven’t had since we iced Corson, Tucker, Domi, Robert’s……. You know, when we beat teams on the ice and in the alley.
6. Jonas is an idiot.

You forgot the obvious .... Jonas is an idiot...

 

[Hellcat]

On my defense, the same way you are now predicting Reaves to beat Gudas people thought Iginla will beat the shit out of him.

As far as my fighting credentials I did a bit of karate, switched to kickboxing, competed for years, and got my referee license once I was done fighting.

I was paid for judging peoples boxing and kickboxing matches !

Knowing Leaf fans relationship with referees, you probably could have left the part out that you were a ref ...

 

[LeafSteel]

Yup many who have never been punched in the face, dont understand just how much a punch in the face is an effective deterrent for many. My buddy is a retired professional MMA fighter, when he was competing, I've had the unfortunate experience of having to spar with him, Men who train to hurt other men, know where and how to punch to get the most bang for their punch and I can tell you from experience, when those eyes water, the knees get week and you have a come to Jesus moment. Most normal people think twice about doing what got them to that point in their life, where their poor decision got them to the point of getting punched in the head. Will Reeves presence eliminate every Bennett moment no, will it make the other team play smaller, yes absolutely, some of our opponents will play smaller.

The argument is always, well goons dont prevent all cheap shots, which is true, but that is an insane disingenuous standard to set. That's is like saying Vasilivesky does not stop every shot so what's the point of having him vs having a $750k goalie? The standard should not be all or nothing, the standard should be does he help our stars play bigger, does he help our team indirectly win games? End of the day I think he makes $1.35 mil which I think is 100% burryable, if he happens to suck the life out of our team send him to the Marlies.



You forgot the obvious .... Jonas is an idiot...

Apparently I’m an idiot too….

 

[Hellcat]

Apparently I’m an idiot too….

LOL... how so?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

From The Athletic’s player poll.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Conor Bedard is 18. I’d bet money on him vs Gudas, Reaves or Lucic

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

The Dubas cult is real. There's a certain crowd that is just in love with Dubas' hockey ideologies. It's not Reaves or Treliving they have a problem with, it's the culture shift of going from an extremely soft, sensitive GM that is more worried about everyones feelings instead of winning, to a tougher stronger GM that has a more blue collar approach and emphasizes the importance of grit/toughness.

It's been all moping from these guys since Dubas was fired and replaced with a guy that contradicts his philosophies.

Dubas brought in shitty washed up enforcers all the time. He traded a 1st round pick for Nick Foligno of all people. People just don't like Reaves because we saw how it went when Dubas did it. Nobody is complaining about actually useful gritty players like Domi or Bertuzzi

 

[AvroArrow]

Dubas brought in shitty washed up enforcers all the time. He traded a 1st round pick for Nick Foligno of all people. People just don't like Reaves because we saw how it went when Dubas did it. Nobody is complaining about actually useful gritty players like Domi or Bertuzzi

Reaves can be sent down if anything. Jonas and Mirtle are crying as usual though. We also never acquired a guy like Reaves before, not sure when "Dubas did it" Foligno isn't exactly an enforcer, he was a beyond washed up injured player when we got him, at a higher cap hit and couldn't be sent down.

 

[Gabriel426]

Dubas brought in shitty washed up enforcers all the time. He traded a 1st round pick for Nick Foligno of all people. People just don't like Reaves because we saw how it went when Dubas did it. Nobody is complaining about actually useful gritty players like Domi or Bertuzzi

The only enforcer type that Dubas brought in was Clifford. Simmonds, Jumbo, Foligno, ROR, Accairi, and Schenn are just guys who can mix it up with opposing teams.

 

[Hellcat]

From The Athletic’s player poll.

View attachment 745172

Clearly no one asked Toronto players cause if they did Andersen?, Anderson? the Hab, would be in the top 3.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Reaves can be sent down if anything. Jonas and Mirtle are crying as usual though. We also never acquired a guy like Reaves before, not sure when "Dubas did it" Foligno isn't exactly an enforcer, he was a beyond washed up injured player when we got him, at a higher cap hit and couldn't be sent down.

Well Reaves is more comparable to a guy like Simmonds or Clifford, but Dubas certainly tried (and failed) to bring in gritty players who could barely play other than them. I think people have forgotten pretty quickly how good of an enforcer Simmonds was, but how it didn't really matter because he was a terrible player.

I do think there's some value in having the best enforcer in the league, but Reaves isn't good enough to play every night and it gives the Leafs less flexibility to have him on the main roster. But as far as Dubas goes, this is exactly the type of signing I wouldn't have been surprised to see him make in the least. He may have even offered Reaves more money

 

[Incognito]

Gudas is 33 I would bet my money on him vs older Lucic and Reaves

Gudas being younger doesn’t really help him though because regardless of age, he sucks at fighting and Reaves doesn’t. And he’d never willingly drop the gloves with Reaves because he knows he’d get the dog shit beat out of him if he did.

 

[LeafSteel]

Apparently I’m an idiot too….

LOL... how so?

I’m not sure.

I will ask my wife for clarification.

…… and Dekes.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

The Clifford and Simmonds = Reaves argument has got to be challenged.

I don't think either player did what Reaves can do. A chippy player cross checking/slashing Matthew's wrist has really got to think twice about eating a Reaves punch. Some gritty players could handle Clifford/Simmonds. Yeah they would fight, but they never (as leafs) could fight like Reaves.

Think of Reaves like Colton Orr. He could knock a guy out with one punch and beat 2 more players up in the same melee.

 

[rojac]

Heard that almost we get to burry goes up in next few years.

Nope.

The amount that can be buried is $375K over the minimum salary. The minimum just went up to $775K, making the burial e amount $1.15M. The minimum salary will remain the same until the end of the current CBA, which ends after the 25-26 season, the same time that the Reaves contract ends.

 

[Duffman955]

The Clifford and Simmonds = Reaves argument has got to be challenged.

I don't think either player did what Reaves can do. A chippy player cross checking/slashing Matthew's wrist has really got to think twice about eating a Reaves punch. Some gritty players could handle Clifford/Simmonds. Yeah they would fight, but they never (as leafs) could fight like Reaves.

Think of Reaves like Colton Orr. He could knock a guy out with one punch and beat 2 more players up in the same melee.

Colton Orr days were fun

 

[Its not your fault]

Nope.

The amount that can be buried is $375K over the minimum salary. The minimum just went up to $775K, making the burial e amount $1.15M. The minimum salary will remain the same until the end of the current CBA, which ends after the 25-26 season, the same time that the Reaves contract ends.

So it went up at the start of this year? If so then yes I heard correct. However I appreciate all the insite into how and why it won't be going up again. Which I didn't know so thank you.

 

[Stephen]

Jonas keeps going on about how the Leafs have “tried this before,” the this being adding grit and personality to the lineup to try and shift the culture. While that’s half true, I think there’s a big difference in how this new group has more “f*** you” energy than previous attempts at adding grit.

Schenn was great and O’Reilly had character, but those guys were more honourable in their grittiness, more reactive than proactive. Acciari was a pinball out there but again, not instigating the scrums. The closest we got to this level of assholery was 2021, but Thornton and Simmonds were both old and mostly useless, Foligno’s back was shot to hell, and Nash may as well have not even existed. Bogosian was fine but as we all know he ran back to America following that season, and Muzzin was also more of a protector than an aggressor, and he got injured near the end of that cursed series.

To me, this latest attempt at changing the culture has clearly put more emphasis on guys who will cause the mischief on the ice. Bertuzzi, Domi, and Reaves will “drag the Leafs into the fight” as Steve Dangle puts it. McCabe is also a jerk and Klingberg is understatedly one himself, so they’ll be part of that as well. Rielly, Lafferty, and Giordano have already shown willingness to stick up for themselves and fight in defence of their teammates, if this new batch of grit can encourage more of the team to play more aggressive and have more of a pack mentality that’ll be huge. And they’ll have a full year to do it, instead of a few games after the TDL to get acclimated.

Jonas seems to be allergic to a good number of hockey concepts and goes into his spastic "but why" mode without offering any ability to analyze. I don't understand why he and Mirtle always seem to buy into this idea of Nu-Hockey like every other team has to stock up on elite goaltending, defense, size, toughness, agitation, team cohesion but hey, doesn't apply to the Leafs as we are such an exceptional case.

 

[Stephen]

The Clifford and Simmonds = Reaves argument has got to be challenged.

I don't think either player did what Reaves can do. A chippy player cross checking/slashing Matthew's wrist has really got to think twice about eating a Reaves punch. Some gritty players could handle Clifford/Simmonds. Yeah they would fight, but they never (as leafs) could fight like Reaves.

Think of Reaves like Colton Orr. He could knock a guy out with one punch and beat 2 more players up in the same melee.

Reaves has more of a troublemaking, quasi bullying attitude in his role as a tough guy, and backs it up with his 225 plus pound frame. Whereas Simmonds was once a legitimate power forward but downgraded into more of a protector who tries to mix it up with limited backup. But Simmonds is actually a very slight player who is punching above his weight class. If he's 184 as published online, Reaves has 40 pounds on him.

Clifford wasn't that useful in Toronto. If he was in an equivalent role to guys like Perry and Maroon he was outgunned in terms of hockey playing ability compared to Perry, and not as big as Maroon.

 

[LeafEgo]

The Clifford and Simmonds = Reaves argument has got to be challenged.

I don't think either player did what Reaves can do. A chippy player cross checking/slashing Matthew's wrist has really got to think twice about eating a Reaves punch. Some gritty players could handle Clifford/Simmonds. Yeah they would fight, but they never (as leafs) could fight like Reaves.

Think of Reaves like Colton Orr. He could knock a guy out with one punch and beat 2 more players up in the same melee.

No doubt Reavo is one of the big three but you dont actually need the best fighter in the league. Simmer was small but sufficient these days, he just slowed down and there was no support.

Pretty sure Cliff was brought on because advanced analysis said he was actually a decent player that would fit the system, but turns out he was ahl caliber. He wasn't a very good enforcer either, no polish just goonery at the wrong time and into the box. I dont think the big guys were too concerned with him either in terms of having a go. I dont think he was taken seriously as a deterrent, perhaps just some concern he might accidentally injure someone.

We've never had functional grit because the architect never understood what that was. I get the sense that recent years have confused some fans. Reavos comments today are among many from the league that has noticed the obvious deficiency. We're starting to shape up.