The Ryan Reaves Debate

[WheresRamziAbid]

I think he hurts the team more than helps with him in the line up. He’s not a good player and others have to play more minutes because of him (technically the more others are on the ice the higher chance of injury ). He goes against what has made us good.

And i dont disagree, i just contend with the notion that he deters nothing. Its silly. It might not be worth his roster spot but if even the pests and idiots admit it does sit in the back of their minds.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Thats the question is he that guy or the secret service without the hookers. Id lean more toward mall cop, but they even stop "some" petty theft.

He's no Paul Blart, that's for sure...

 

[Speaking Moistly]

But they dont "more likely do nothing" Tom Wilson said it himself about Derek f"ing Engellend. Its a matter how how much/how little they deter not if they do/dont deter anything. And the cost benefit of playing a less effective player to do so.

Tom Wilson literally did his thing in the last game. I didn’t say nothing was done but it’s low and ineffective. When it’s really low it just doesn’t count anymore. Oh, tom Wilson is 5% less likely to be tom Wilson.... and he just tried to concuss someone. He kind of briefly thought about it, though. There’s also the possibility that that moron was trying to make himself sound tougher for doing shit with Engelland on the ice or trying to talk up his own importance.

Reaves plays ~6 minutes a night, can’t grab someone and start wailing on them without consequences and isn’t good enough to get most players with a legitimate hit. We’ve just seen 4 incidents with Reaves playing and 2 of them he was on the ice for. He did shove at Ovechkin once, that was fun. Enforcers are dying out for a reason and the Pens have someone like Oleksiak playing 18 minutes a night. Engelland has also gotten way more minutes than Reaves over his career because he can actually play hockey reasonably well. There’s some level of deterrent and there’s a dinosaur. Still happened with both in the lineup and Cole.


Although, I did find this great gif from after Wilson got Cole. It doesn’t have Errey saying Reaves would do something as they cut to him glaring from a distance but it’s close.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

Tom Wilson literally did his thing in the last game. I didn’t say nothing was done but it’s low and ineffective. When it’s really low it just doesn’t count anymore. Oh, tom Wilson is 5% less likely to be tom Wilson.... and he just tried to concuss someone. He kind of briefly thought about it, though. There’s also the possibility that that moron was trying to make himself sound tougher for doing **** with Engelland on the ice or trying to talk up his own importance.

Reaves plays ~6 minutes a night, can’t grab someone and start wailing on them without consequences and isn’t good enough to get most players with a legitimate hit. We’ve just seen 4 incidents with Reaves playing and 2 of them he was on the ice for. He did shove at Ovechkin once, that was fun. Enforcers are dying out for a reason and the Pens have someone like Oleksiak playing 18 minutes a night. Engelland has also gotten way more minutes than Reaves over his career because he can actually play hockey reasonably well. There’s some level of deterrent and there’s a dinosaur. Still happened with both in the lineup and Cole.


Although, I did find this great gif from after Wilson got Cole. It doesn’t have Errey saying Reaves would do something as they cut to him glaring from a distance but it’s close.

If you think that hit was anything like what Tom Wilson used to pull night in and night out running around trying to hurt people, i guess i just dont know what to tell you. Its was a reckless hit but not the guy running around all over the ice from puck drop looking to stir shit up.

I think im going to trust the guys saying it over your offhand waive offs that it does effect their mindset.

AGAIN, it might not be worth it to dress Reaves but that is a different discussion.

 

[TheSniper26]

Quotes from players are kind of useless though. What are they supposed to say? "Yeah, that type of player really doesn't have a place anymore. The game has moved on. Nice guy though." That could be 100% how they feel and they'd still never say it. I mean, these guys share a locker room with each other. They're friends off the ice.

Ask any teammate of Tanner Glass and they'd probably tell you what a useful member of the squad he is. But we know it's not true because a mountain of evidence tells us it's not. Hockey players are pretty much the least candid in all of sports. Their interviews are completely worthless.

Again, Reaves is not the first tough guy this team has had. MacIntyre, Godard, Laraque, Engelland, Asham, Rupp, Sestito, Cairns, etc. Pretty sure Sid/Geno took plenty of abuse during those years. Nobody was scared of those guys. Or at least they weren't scared enough to not do what they're paid to do.

One side of this debate seems to have a pretty selective memory.

 

[WheresRamziAbid]

Quotes from players are kind of useless though. What are they supposed to say? "Yeah, that type of player really doesn't have a place anymore. The game has moved on. Nice guy though." That could be 100% how they feel and they'd still never say it. I mean, these guys share a locker room with each other. They're friends off the ice.

Ask any teammate of Tanner Glass and they'd probably tell you what a useful member of the squad he is. But we know it's not true because a mountain of evidence tells us it's not. Hockey players are pretty much the least candid in all of sports. Their interviews are completely worthless.

Again, Reaves is not the first tough guy this team has had. MacIntyre, Godard, Laraque, Engelland, Asham, Rupp, Sestito, Cairns, etc. Pretty sure Sid/Geno took plenty of abuse during those years. Nobody was scared of those guys. Or at least they weren't scared enough to not do what they're paid to do.

One side of this debate seems to have a pretty selective memory.

They're not quotes to media members they are quotes from player to player. There is no reason for them to lie. If they didnt believe there is no reason for them to say it.

And AGAIN, its not that they effectively deter thing to a point where it makes sense to dress/have them. Its this notion of the Ryan Wilson's of the world where every time there is a borderline hit, the soapbox comes out and its "see they do nothing"

NOTHING will stop all dirty play, not even 100 game suspensions. But there is no doubt in my mind that having a Reaves type at least slows "some" of it down. Maybe not enough to be worth it but some.