Ryan Reaves takes brutal shot at Leafs’ fans hours before opener!
While he admitted he was playing terribly, the shot he took at the Toronto fanbase is even more terrible.
Everyone in Toronto had high expectations last summer when the Maple Leafs got enforcer Ryan Reaves under contract, a hefty one, to join the organization and bring some grit to the roster. However, despite his three-year, $4.05 million deal, Reaves didn’t deliver and especially struggled in the first half of the 2023-24 season.
When asked about it and how he forsees the 2024-25 campaign on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast with Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, Reaves spoke about the pressure of playing in Toronto, though he also made sure to hurt the fans with his statement:
“It was hard for me at the beginning of the year because I was playing like s**t,” Reaves admitted. “When you are not performing here, the media jumps on you, the fans – who are sitting in their parents’ basement – they’re jumping on you.”
For Reaves, it was unfamiliar territory not to be able to make an impact right away, especially with new teammates. He added:
“I went through a little bit of a tough stretch there where I couldn’t get anything going on the ice, I was getting scratched, and (thinking) ‘Everybody wants me out of here.
“It was the first time I really experienced low confidence for a couple of months there. When I finally came back, I played better and it was kind of a tale of two seasons for me.”
Reaves took part in 49 games last year, due to a knee injury suffered in mid-December, but posted a team-worst -11 rating through just 21 contests, which deflated his self-confidence.
“I thought I had a really good training camp, one of my better training camps to be honest, and you know the first two games I thought I played well. All of a sudden, I just started eating dashes like it was my job.”
“I couldn’t do anything about it. I stepped on the ice, and I ate a dash. Somebody toe picks, I ate a dash,” Reaves said.
“When you’re eating dashes like that, it’s hard for a coach to trust you whether it’s your fault or not.”
Between December 3, 2023, and February 4, 2024, Reaves, spent six weeks as a healthy scratch, but eventually turned his season around when he scored in his return to the lineup.
I guess we will see how Reaves will do in Toronto as the Maple Leafs’ season gets underway tonight in Montreal against the Canadiens. Unfortunately for him, Karma could be a bitch and make him pay for his comments about his fans, who only want the best for the team.
