News Maple Leafs Team Notes

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

Ryan Reaves was phased out of Leafs’ lineup after underwhelming year, could this be the end?

It’s been said that the era of the enforcer is over in the NHL. In a league that is getting bigger, faster, and more skilled every year, there is less room on a team for a one-dimensional player, with physicality expected now from all across the roster.

Playing in his second season with the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, Ryan Reaves is the latest casualty of this dying breed, as Reaves lost his roster spot this season. Ironically, this happened in the push to be more physical and aggressive under longtime NHL bruiser Craig Berube.

Reaves originally signed with Toronto on a three-year, $4.05 million contract on July 1st, 2023. The 38-year-old has one year remaining on that deal with a cap hit of $1.35 million, but has yet to say if he’ll be returning for another season.

How the year went​

If this truly is the end of Reaves’ playing career, he’ll be going out with a whimper, after a disappointing year where he failed to make any notable impact.

The Winnipeg native registered only two points this season, both assists, as he was held without a goal in a season for the first time in his career. Reaves only appeared in 35 contests with the Leafs, averaging under eight minutes a game. With Toronto’s bottom six filling out, there was little room for Reaves on the fourth line, who was contributing almost nothing offensively. And while Toronto’s oldest player threw an impressive 103 hits despite playing less than half the year, he only took 10 in return, and blocked just eight shots.

In November, he was suspended five games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head on Edmonton Oilers’ defenceman Darnell Nurse. It was the fourth suspension of his career.

Most notably, Reaves was criticized for not living up to his reputation as an enforcer, as he didn’t fight through the first few months of the season. He later came up with a big tilt against Mathieu Olivier of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period of a 5-1 loss for the Leafs.

Ahead of the trade deadline, Reaves was placed on waivers in order to free up cap space, in what felt like an inevitable move. After clearing waivers, the veteran skater joined the Marlies for three games, scoring one goal.

While it’s possible his playing days may be over, there’s still a bright future for Reaves, who was voted by his teammates as the Leaf who would make the best media personality after retirement, per a January survey from The Athletic. Reaves responded saying it’s something he has considered before:

“I’ve thought about (doing media) and I’ve had a few agencies call me over the last few years. I guess they thought I’d retired,” Reaves quipped. “My hang up with it is I would rather do something like ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ or ‘Inside the NBA’ where you can speak freely and have a little fun and it’s not so dry. Hockey doesn’t do a very good job at marketing the game because they want everything to be so black and white. You can’t have a very strong opinion about things, you can’t have fun with things. I feel like we fall behind other sports in that regard. That would be my hang-up to just going anywhere on TV.”

While he hasn’t spoken about it since, that will be one thing to watch as Reaves mulls possibly hanging up his skates this summer.

Statistical profile​

Category	Production	NHL Rank
Expected goals percentage	42.57%	628th
Goal differential	-3	677th
Corsi for	43.70%	629th
Expected goals for per 60	1.81	652nd
Expected goals against per 60	2.44	391st
Individual expected goals	1.41	631st
Shooting percentage	0%	666th

All stats at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick (min. 200 minutes)

Reaves is one player whose stats certainly speak for themselves, bottoming out in the league in most major offensive categories. Ultimately, this type of one-dimensional play doesn’t have much place on a Berube-led team moving forward, as the tough guy head coach expects physicality from his high-skilled players, and in return expects at least some offensive spark from even his fourth line guys.

Select highlights​

Reaves fights Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier (January 22, 2025)

HOCKEY FIGHT OF THE YEAR?!

Heavyweight throw down between Ryan Reaves and Mathieu Olivier pic.twitter.com/B19Gh4FiJY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2025

In his AHL debut, Reaves stages his own protest against the AHL’s rules on mandatory visors (April 2, 2025)

Ryan Reaves first game with the Toronto Marlies. Reaves mocks the AHL rules of mandatory visor#Leafsforever pic.twitter.com/tMKZ04pK6X

— RGF (@rgfray1) April 2, 2025

Reaves scores with the Toronto Marlies for his first AHL goal in 15 years (April 5, 2025)

Ryan Reaves scores in his second game with the #Marlies.

It's his first goal in the AHL since Dec. 19, 2010. pic.twitter.com/yOZ1nJQaCJ

— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) April 5, 2025

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/rya...fs-lineup-underwhelming-year-could-be-the-end

 

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

What if Jonathan Toews played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2025-26?

It’s no secret the 2025 free agency class is weaker than in years past, especially at the centre position. And with Brock Nelson already resigning with the Colorado Avalanche on a three-year deal worth $7.5M AAV, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ options for an upgrade at the centre position are slim. They already arguably have the best centre available in John Tavares, who is expected by all accounts to re-sign, but for a team in their championship window, just resigning an aging Tavares while having $25.7M in cap space to work with this summer won’t cut it for ownership or their fans.

We’ve all heard the Brad Treliving quote stating that the ‘DNA needs to change’ by now. How about starting that DNA change with three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews? Ever since Toews’ agent, Pat Brisson, announced in May that his client is 100 percent committed to returning to the NHL next season, the links to the Maple Leafs have been non-stop, and for good reason. Toews last played in the NHL during the 2022-23 season where he recorded 15 goals and 31 points in 53 games, in what was an injury-riddled season.

Now two years removed from the 2023 campaign, Toews seems healthy again, which could result in him having a massive impact on an inexpensive deal. Daily Faceoff listed Toews as the eighth-best free agent available this summer, despite not playing in the NHL for two seasons, AFP Analytics projects Toews will come in at $2 million against the cap on the high end, and it may be entirely possible to land Toews at the league minimum of $775,000.

Assuming the Maple Leafs are able to re-sign Tavares, adding Toews down the middle would provide a more stable and natural fit at the centre position for their third line. During the playoffs, we saw stints of Max Domi and Scott Laughton playing in the middle on the third line. It seems that the Leafs will likely want to move Domi to the wing, where he’s been more effective, while slotting Laughton back into the middle.

Toews is a clutch player, as evidenced by his three Stanley Cups, and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2010. Over the course of his career, he’s constantly been a playoff performer with 45 goals, 119 points in 137 games — exactly what the Maple Leafs could always use more of.

And to those already arguing in the comments, concerned with the idea that he’s too old, or that he seemingly retired two years ago, or how it could be the same thing as the Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau experience, I’ll ask you to reconsider. All the Maple Leafs would be doing in this signing is buying a cheap ticket to a play. They’re hoping to walk away floored by the performance, but if not, it was an inexpensive, no risk ticket to begin with.

For a team that is desperately trying to end the drought of not winning a cup for both them and the fans, an underrated and simple signing like this could be just the answer the Maple Leafs need. Obviously, Toews can’t be the only signing the Maple Leafs make if the goal is still for real change to happen, but it could be a part of a series of moves this offseason that create championship DNA.

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Source: https://theleafsnation.com/news/what-jonathan-toews-played-toronto-maple-leafs-2025-26