Leafs Ryan Reaves emerges as a possible trade candidate according to analyst

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Daniel Lucente
August 9, 2024 (11:48)

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One of the most prominent NHL analysts believes that fan favorite Ryan Reaves could be on his way out of Toronto very shortly.

Ryan Reaves is about to begin year two of his three-year, $4.05 million deal he signed as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in July 2023. Reaves was brought in to add grit and physicality to a Leafs team that was in desperate need of that. He would engage in fights to give the team a spark.

Now that one year has passed, insider Jesse Courville-Lynch believes Reaves could be the next player traded out of Toronto.

«While Reaves is someone the team can use when they need some physical play, it's safe to assume he signed with the Maple Leafs because he wanted to play and help contribute toward their goal of winning a Stanley Cup. With Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann breaking out in a big way last season, it pushed Reaves further down the depth chart. Nick Abruzzese, Alex Steeves, and even Nick Robertson will all be looking to take a spot away from Reaves this season out of training camp, and with the way things are trending, I would bank on Reaves being the odd man out and the team's front office exploring a trade,» Courville-Lynch wrote.

Jesse is clearly already over the Reaves signing and believes he will be traded but there were also others who never even liked the Reaves contract from the start.

During last season's playoffs, Reaves was a healthy scratch in two games and only played over 10 minutes in one game. He is usually glued to the bench for the majority of games.

In his first season with the Leafs, Reaves managed to score just four goals and add two assists in only 49 games, spending the other games as either a healthy scratch or out with some sort of injury. It was definitely not an ideal first season with his new club.

Jesse believes that the three teams that could have the most interest in Reaves are the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames.

«With that said, there are a few teams who have the money available to bring Reaves in and give him a slightly increased role. The San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, and Calgary Flames all come to mind as clubs who could use Reaves in some capacity, but there haven't been any rumblings of a trade up until this point. At the end of the day, Reaves will have to come to training camp and earn a spot, or he may have another tough season ahead of him,» Courville-Lynch wrote.

Despite his lack of offensive power, Reaves is definitely a great locker room guy who stands up for his teammates, so any one of those three aforementioned teams would be lucky and happy to have him. Auston Matthews definitely shares that sentiment about Reaves.

«He's just an animal, honestly, he's a beast,» Matthews said to The Hockey News of Reaves. «I think it's moments like those where you really realize how important he is to the team and what he brings on the ice as well as off the ice. So I thought, like I said, a couple games ago or last week, I mean, he's been playing some incredible hockey for us as a late and peaking at a really good time. So it's been great to see.»