Ryan Reaves slammed for his actions in Thursday’s game

This summer, new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving used the old times hockey book and added an enforcer with less than impressive abilites for actual play. Fans were excited to see Ryan Reaves signed as a free agent to a contract in Toronto, but since the 2023-24 season has gotten underway, they quickly changed their tune, especially since the 37-year-old forward inked a three-year deal, worth $4.05 million. The contract will put the enforcer into his 40s by the time the contract expires.

The problem is that many fans and pundits believe Reaves can no longer play in the NHL. It was especially exposed on Thursday night as the Maple Leafs faced off against the Stars in Dallas. Reaves was trending for all of the wrong reasons when fans slammed him for being barely able to skate and keep up with the action, calling him a liability on the ice with some demanding he be benched or even become a healthy scratch for games to come.

Here is a small sample, and trying to keep it clean here, of the criticism directed at Reaves during last night’s game from X (previously known as Twitter):

It’s not the first time this season Reaves is getting some heat. Earlier this month, the new Leafs forward called out Chicago Blackhawks veteran forward Corey Perry, making a blunt assessment of the role he plays.

“I never really liked him, to be honest,” Reaves said .

“We always seem to kind of run into each other when we play against each other, but not a lot of love for that guy. … Just the way he runs his mouth, I don’t know. He kind of acts tough. He’s not tough.”

When the Maple Leafs played against the Hawks last week, both forwards got into it multiple times — both physically and verbally, then leading to Reaves’ comments.

However, many fans quickly came to the defense of Perry, stating that he had accomplished way more in his career than Reaves ever did. So far this season, Reaves has no points, two hits and posted a minus-5 rating and average around less than seven minutes of ice time for Toronto.

And while he could easily knock me out if I told this to his face, he did not look like an NHL player on the ice in Dallas last night…

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