Ryan Reaves Describes Physical Confrontation with NHL Head Coach

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Tom Banks
September 9, 2023 (7:55 PM)

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The enforcer in the NHL is a dying breed, and it's safe to say that some head coaches may be breathing a sigh of relief at that statement due to the story Ryan Reaves revealed on a recent podcast.

A big time altercation

When appearing on the Empty Netters podcast, Reaves talked about a story from his time with the St. Louis Blues, in which veteran coach Ken Hitchcock got under his skin in a big way.

That led to him being chewed out on the bench several times, but after a while, it got to Reaves, and he seemingly snapped.

I turned around and I grabbed him by the tie and said 'If you don't shut your f***ing mouth I'm going to strangle you with this tie.

Taking it well

Despite how aggressive and intimidating Reaves can be, Hitchcock has been around the NHL for quite some time and has seen it all, and his reaction shows exactly that.

So I go in to Hitch's office 'Hey Hitch my bad I didn't mean to grab your tie and say that' and he's like 'What the f*** are you talking about Reavo!

Incidents like this can clearly tear teams and relationships apart, but this one was no doubt an exception to the rule, as both came out of it with a great relationship, but it's always great to hear stories like this out of veterans.

As Read on Hockey Feed - Ryan Reaves details physical altercation with NHL head coach.