Ryan Reaves' Job In Jeopardy with Maple Leafs Due To One Critical Flaw
Ryan Reaves' job with the Toronto Maple Leafs is to be an enforcer, but he hasn't dropped the gloves once this season. What is Craig Berube doing keeping him in?
When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Ryan Reaves last season, he was meant to bring an edge to the team and bring an old-school style of enforcer much like Tie Domi in years past.
However, he's been anything but Domi. Terrible defensively, can't score, looks two steps behind everyone, and the most egregious thing? He's not fighting.
During Leafs Morning Take, co-hosts Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill spoke on Ryan Reaves' lack of fighting, with Rosehill wondering why Reaves hasn't tried to enforce anything this season:
It's pretty sad when you have one job and don't do it. It would be excusable if Reaves was able to put points on the board or do a defensively sound job, but when he's on; Toronto statistically is much, much worse.
His last fight was in a meaningless preseason game, and didn't have one since the beginning of April last year. It leads one to wonder why Craig Berube continues to plug him into the lineup when he doesn't even do his one job.
Whether Reaves is afraid of getting beaten, or feels like he can contribute otherwise, he needs to figure it out, and fast. Toronto has Calle Jarnkrok and Connor Dewar returning soon, and they could and should take Reaves' spot immediately.
It remains to be seen if Ryan Reaves can pick things up or if he's going to continue wearing a shade of yellow instead of proudly sticking up for the blue and white. He costs too much to do so little, and it's time to move on and focus on making the whole team better.
| POLL | ||
Should Toronto cut ties with Ryan Reaves? | ||
| Yes | 228 | 56.2 % |
| No | 178 | 43.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
