Ultimatum in Toronto for Ryan Reaves as he could lose his job!

Toronto Maple Leafs veteran forward Ryan Reaves has yet to fight this season. You read that right. Ahead of Friday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, Reaves has not dropped the gloves for his single bout in 2024-25 and it could lead to him losing his spot in the lineup.

During Leafs Morning Take, co-hosts Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill spoke on Reaves’ lack of fighting and hinted at the fact that if he does not accept or invite to fight against Montreal Canadiens’ Arber Xhekaj on Saturday when the rivals face off, he could be the odd man out for a while.

Rosehill said: “There have been opportunities in my mind where Ryan Reaves should have got a scrap going. The Rempe, the Xhekaj. Opening night, in Montreal, statement game, Craig Berube, your team is down, you're spinning your wheels, you can’t seem to get a goal. Go right to Xhekaj and try to spark the boys.”

Rosehill was a member of the Leafs between 2009 and 2012, and recently called out Reaves for backing out of a challenge by New York Rangers’ Matt Rempe. Added to a similar situation that happened in the first game of the season against the Habs when Xhekaj challenged Reaves to a fight, but the latter backed away and refused to fight him, Rosehill couldn’t help but point out Reaves’ failure to play his role.

And so, could the Leafs have given him an ultimatum, telling Reaves he must take back on his enforcer role or else?
Reaves has been a healthy scratch a few times this season already, though he has been part of the lineup for the last games. In 11 games however, he has many zeroes on his stats sheet, with no goal, no assist, no point and most surprisingly no penalty minutes.

It’s pretty sad when you have one job and you fail to do it.

Some pundits and former enforcers claimed that Reaves has become too scared to fight with the young players in the NHL, but now he has to ask himself if he is more afraid of losing his job in Toronto than dropping the gloves?