On Saturday night, Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Ryan Reaves suited up for his 31st appearance of the 2024-25 season against the Ottawa Senators. The 38-year-old has played in over 900 career NHL games and while he’s nowhere near known for his offensive production, his presence in the lineup has been an important one over the years.
Recently, however, his role within the Maple Leafs’ organization has come into question as the team continues to search for depth scoring and ways of producing stronger four-line efforts on a consistent basis.
While he’s been described as a strong presence in the room and a team guy — Max Pacioretty going as far as describing him as one of the best teammates he’s had — a good locker room guy doesn’t always prove to beneficial to their respective NHL franchise.
In this case, the question remains where Reaves role falls in the Maple Leafs’ hierarchy.
Reaves’ Energy, Effectiveness Playing Against Each Other
Following his first tilt of the season in the first period of the Maple Leafs’ game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, Reaves had arguably his best game of the season for the team. He had 13 shifts for just over eight minutes and two shots on goal, including a partial break where he fumbled the puck.
Much to the chagrin of Auston Matthews, Reaves’ fisticuff did bring some energy to the Maple Leafs’ — at least on the ice. The fans, however, could’ve used an extra charge. Regardless, the energy wasn’t what the Maple Leafs needed against the Blue Jackets as can be seen with the 5-1 loss.
Instead, the Maple Leafs needed scoring, attempts and opportunities — something Reaves doesn’t provide a ton of during his time on the ice. But in today’s NHL, where does that line get drawn — the line between energy guy and their lack of production offensively?
Again, on Saturday, Reaves got back into the lineup against the Senators. While the Maple Leafs lost for the second time in two games with a score of 2-1, Reaves played just over six minutes with no shots, no scoring chances and three scoring chances against. The benefits — while there — are limited for a player of that skill set in today’s game.
Reaves: The Locker Room Guy
In no way is this a knock on Reaves’ leadership. He’s the type of player that will sit and do post-game scrums, discuss the shortcomings of the team if it’s been a bad run and has no issue taking ownership when needed. In fact, Reaves is the definition of a locker-room leader.
Throughout his career — and his tenure in Toronto — it’s been well documented his ability to get his teammates together, be it at home or on the road, for dinners and gatherings. He’s a guy that brings strong team culture into the room.
Heck, we’ve all seen the Halloween scare videos with Max Domi this past October and it’s the little things like that that can bring a team together. Even as a scratch this season, it didn’t stop the 38-year-old from getting down in the tunnel as the team took to the ice to pump up his teammates.
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So how does that translate into a regular role and more ice-time for Reaves? Or, could the Maple Leafs use that $1.35 million to add some depth offensively?
Reaves Debate is an Underlying Headline on Maple Leafs’ Season
Like it or not, the Reaves debate exists with this Maple Leafs team. The benefits of having him in the lineup have been well-documented in that he’s a physical presence that can create fear in the opposition. So far this season, that hasn’t always been the case.
Beyond that, another storyline to the Maple Leafs’ season is their lack of depth scoring — again, a well-documented conversation. His leadership, culture-driven presence in the room and physicality don’t necessarily make up for his lapses in the offensive zone and given that he’s eating up over $1 million of the team’s cap space for the remainder of this season and next, it’s a tough pill to swallow.
The questions start to linger when it comes to Reaves’ role in this lineup. Can someone else fill that void? Can that money be better allocated to help the team to a deeper playoff run? Is Reaves’ on-ice product as effective as it once was?
While it does pain me to say — because he does bring a team together both on and off the ice — the Reaves debate seems to settle itself when all the questions are laid out. Eight points in 80 games with the Maple Leafs over parts of two seasons and decreased ice-time under Craig Berube, it seems as though the team is weaning off the Reaves contract.
If they can move off that contract before this season’s trade deadline, the Maple Leafs will be better served. Like it or not, Reaves’ role with the Maple Leafs has ultimately been extinguished and ridding themselves of that contract could put an end to that debate.
