Maple Leafs’ Ryan Reaves Suspended 5 Games After Hit on Oilers’ Nurse

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves has been suspended for five games for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers’ defenceman Darnell Nurse, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Sunday (Nov. 17).

Ryan Reaves has been suspended for five games for an illegal check to the head on Darnell Nurse, per @NHLPlayerSafety.pic.twitter.com/eSGIwmD46u

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 17, 2024

Reaves was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head at 2:38 of the second period of the game against the Oilers on Saturday, Nov. 16, and was subsequently ejected from the game. Nurse left the game after the hit and did not return.

The Oilers have not given an update on Nurse’s condition since the initial announcement that he would miss the remainder of the game with an upper-body injury.

According to the NHL Department of Player Safety, Reaves will forfeit $35,156.25 from his salary during the unpaid suspension with the money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

This is the fourth suspension of Reaves’ career, and third related to a dangerous hit. He was last suspended in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights after kneeling on the neck of Colorado Avalanche defenceman Ryan Graves, resulting in a two-game ban. His previous two suspensions took place in 2020 and 2016. Additionally, the forward has also been fined three times.

This was the third suspension of the 2024-25 NHL season, and the second in the month of November after Los Angeles Kings’ forward Tanner Jeannot was suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser.