Potential Suspension Incoming For Ryan Reaves Due To Illegal Check To The Head
The Toronto Maple Leafs' Ryan Reaves will more than likely have a hearing with player safety after a blatant illegal check to the head of the Oilers' Darnell Nurse.
Ryan Reaves is known for his bruising style of play, throwing his weight and his fists around while patrolling the ice. He's not a goal scorer and not the best defensively, but it's hard to find players who bring that energy especially at 37.
But the aggressiveness can be too much at times, and Reaves will need to answer to the NHL Player Safety Department after a brutal illegal hit on the Oilers' Darnell Nurse.
Nurse immediately crumbled and the situation looked very bad. Nurse was seen bleeding and was helped off the ice and to the locker room. Reaves was assessed a game misconduct for his reckless actions.
It was announced later on that Nurse was going to miss the remainder of the game due to an upper-body injury, leaving both teams down a man.
It's another blemish on a terrible year for Reaves, as there have been calls for him to take a step back and that Craig Berube needs to stop playing him so much. It's not the first time that Reaves has made headlines either this week, both embarrassing himself and nearly seriously injuring his own teammate.
Fans of the Maple Leafs weren't happy either.
For Ryan Reaves It's Not The First Time
Luckily for the Maple Leafs, they were able to kill off the five-minute major penalty although that's the last thing on anyone's mind. The attention should be on Nurse and his health, and the fact Reaves was so careless even after so many years shows a lack of preparation and focus. This is why there is a call for Reaves to be traded out of town.
It was a brutal hit that should not go unpunished, however it remains to be seen how the league responds given their spotty track record when it comes to dishing out justice for these types of actions.
It's not the first time that Reaves has done others dirty though, as he has a history of laying some brutal and questionable hits:
Reaves has been suspended three times by the league already and is more than likely headed for a lengthy term for his fourth, especially as a repeat offender.
For the season, Reaves has been unimpressive, only scoring one point and not even doing the one job he was signed to do. Not having dropped the gloves once, it shows that Reaves has no spot on the team anymore as his antiquated style of play is phased out.
Toronto will continue their grind against Edmonton without Reaves, but it was not easy. After securing a 3-2 lead thanks to goals from Bobby McMann and Matthew Knies, Leon Draisaitl tied the game in the last minute.
But Toronto wasn't done, and their momentum carried them into the extra frame with some life. After corralling the puck in their zone, the Leafs broke out for a 2-on-1 as Mitch Marner buried the winner.
Toronto now increases their record on the year to 11-6-2 meanwhile Edmonton drops to 9-7-2 for the season. Toronto faces Vegas on Wednesday, while the Oilers head to Montreal on Monday.
| POLL | ||
Should Ryan Reaves be suspended? | ||
| Yes | 671 | 74.5 % |
| No | 230 | 25.5 % |
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