"Everybody wants me out": Ryan Reaves opens up about bearing the brunt of media and Leafs fans 

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Oct 08, 2024 21:51 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs added some serious sandpaper to the lineup before the start of last season, signing enforcer Ryan Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million deal.

However, he was limited to 49 games last season and is finding out firsthand what it means to be a player in a media fishbowl like Toronto. During a recent episode of the popular podcast "Spittin' Chiclets," Reaves opened up about his experiences in dealing with the pundits and fans of Toronto, who can be merciless, especially when a player struggles.

“It was hard for me at the beginning of the year because I was playing like sh*t,” Reaves said . "When you’re not performing here, the media jumps on you. The fans that are sitting in their parents’ basement, they jump on you.”

“I went through a little bit of a tough stretch there where I couldn’t get anything going on the ice. I was getting scratched and thinking, ‘Everybody wants me out of here,’” he explained. “It was the first time I really experienced low confidence for a couple of months there. When I finally came back, I played better."

“Hopefully I’m gonna start off where I ended and keep that going for the rest of the year.”

Meanwhile, he also came to the defense of teammate Mitch Marner, who faced intense scrutiny for his performance in Toronto's Round 1 opening loss in the Stanley Cup playoffs to the Boston Bruins.

“You can’t put a whole playoff series on one guy. It’s not like he was horrible. The points just weren’t coming for him,” he said.

Ryan Reaves is with his sixth NHL club

Selected with the 156th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues, Reaves has spent the majority of his career known for his physical play and hard-nosed approach to the game.

After playing seven years with the Blues, Reaves was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in June 2017, but would soon be on the move again with a trade to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in February of that season.

He played a handful of seasons with the Golden Knights before being traded to the New York Rangers in July 2021. Once again, he'd be on the move with a trade to the Minnesota Wild in November 2022.

In 877 career NHL games, Reaves has scored 63 goals with 72 assists along with 1,072 penalties in minutes. He's also added three goals and six assists in 113 postseason games, with 116 penalties in minutes.