Once free agency opened on July 1, one of the first big signings announced was the Toronto Maple Leafs putting pen to paper on a three-year, $1.35 million per season deal with 36-year-old enforcer Ryan Reaves. We are sure Maple Leafs fans all over received the news of that signing with a resounding “What?”
It’s rare in the NHL for a 36-year-old player to get signed to a three-year contract. The norm for players that age is a one or two-year deal. On a rare occasion, you might see a former superstar player in the twilight of his career get a similar multiyear deal. But, for a player such as Reaves, who has averaged under nine minutes per game and has scored 59 goals and 129 points in 828 games in his career, to sign such a deal makes us want to ask why.
Why Reaves & Why This Three-Year Deal?
Unless we were on the inside of the inner workings of the Maple Leafs, we will most likely never know. All we can do is examine Reaves and his career to see if we can surmise some reasons why the Maple Leafs felt him worthy of such a deal.
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We do know that Wayne Simmonds is finished with the Maple Leafs. If he does wish to continue his NHL career, we can be sure it won’t be in Toronto. The fact he cleared waivers numerous times this past season, despite not making much more than the league minimum, tells us there’s not a lot of interest from other teams in acquiring Simmonds.
As much as we admire Simmonds and everything he’s done in the game of hockey, Reaves is a definite step up from him. While Simmonds struggled to make the lineup, Reaves was playing a regular shift and averaged 50 percent more ice time per game. If, for no other reason, Reaves gives the Maple Leafs a player of the same ilk that is still capable of playing full-time fourth-line minutes.
Reaves Carries Some Curious Numbers
As for numbers, the first thing that jumps out at us is that Reaves is eighth on the league’s all-time hits list with 2,797 in 828 games played. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Reaves is definitely physical.
The most ice time Reaves has ever played in a season was 10:52 per game with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19. He averaged 10:39 with the New York Rangers in 2020-21. Last season, after being acquired by the Minnesota Wild in return for a fifth-round pick, he averaged 9:30 per game.
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One surprising aspect of Reaves’ recent history is that, for a 36-year-old who is as physical as he is, he has stayed surprisingly healthy. In the past five seasons, he has only had one injury that was more than a day-to-day thing. He missed a month between April and May 2021. Other than that, according to CapFriendly, he has had just five injuries that were listed as day-to-day where he returned to action in a week or less.
The conclusion so far is that Reaves is a fourth-line player who hits a lot and stays healthy despite his age and style of play. That still doesn’t add up to a $4 million player over three years.
Were There Competing Offers on the Table?
There are a few other numbers that jump out at us when perusing Reaves stats. He has played in over 100 playoff games; 108 to be exact. He has also played in the postseason in 12 of his 13 seasons in the NHL. The only season he did not play in the playoffs was his rookie season in 2010-11.
He’s been even more physical in the postseason than in the regular season. In his career, he has averaged 23 hits per 60 minutes played in the regular season, and 28 hits per 60 minutes played in the playoffs.
The second thing was his recent earnings. Reaves has earned $1.75 million per season over the past three years. The $1.35 million he is earning with the Maple Leafs is a 23 percent drop in pay from last season. It might be safe to guess he might have been offered more money on a shorter term by another team. By offering him three years, the Maple Leafs would have been able to offer him more total money on what might be his last contract and take him to retirement.
Looking at Reaves’ health history and his playoff experience, it is easy to understand why a team that has struggled to have postseason success would be interested in signing him. The reason why his deal is structured the way it is, we can only guess there were competing offers on the table.
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There’s another number of note when looking over Reaves’ stats. He has more takeaways (170) than he has giveaways (103). We aren’t sure that really means much. He is not known for his playmaking ability, and he probably doesn’t handle the puck too much. The number is still a positive though.
What if Reaves Doesn’t Work Out?
If for whatever reason Reaves doesn’t work out, there are a number of ways the Maple Leafs could divest themselves from the contract. The deal does not come with any no-move or no-trade clauses. If teams can find ways to move bad contracts worth millions more annually, moving Reaves and his $1.35 million does not seem like that much of a challenge.
By a quirk in the CBA rules, despite Reaves being 35 or older when he signed the deal, it does qualify for a buyout. According to CapFriendly, the cost of buying out the deal would be $450,000 per season for two seasons per each season left in the contract. If for some strange reason, they were to buy out the contract this summer they would be on the hook for $450,000 per season for six years. Next summer they would have to pay $450,000 for four years. The summer after that they would have to pay $450,000 for two years.
A better option for the Maple Leafs would be to simply place Reaves on waivers. If he is claimed great. If he is not, the CBA allows the team to remove $1.15 million from a player’s cap hit if they send him to the minors. That would mean they would be on the hook for just $200,000 a season for however many years are left on Reaves’ deal.
Of course, while we would never wish anything like this on anyone, there is always the risk of injury for a player of Reaves’ age and style of play. If he were to suffer anything serious the Maple Leafs would get full credit for his cap hit.
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While signing Reaves to the contract the Maple Leafs did seems like a bit of a risk, it is not that much of a gamble. If he continues to play at the level he has recently and can be positive while taking a regular fourth-line shift, great. If his level of play drops off to the point where he struggles to make the lineup, the negative repercussions would be minimal.
While we don’t expect Reaves to make a significant impact on the Maple Leafs, if he can hold his own in the role he is given it is not a bad signing.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
