Habs forward has challenged Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves to a scrap via the Montreal media
Ryan Reaves is one of the more menacing enforcers in the NHL - if not the most menacing - and he comes into the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup with 81 fighting majors over his 13-year career, including 7 last season.
Reaves has accrued 1,023 PIMs in 13 seasons and while the fights and the PIMs have dropped since 2016-17 - mostly because the NHL has modernized to prioritize speed and skill - Reaves is still a daunting figure to square up against. However, as intimidating as he can be, there's at least one fellow scrapper who isn't afraid to issue a challenge.
Montreal Canadiens' left winger Michael Pezzetta expressed in an interview this weekend that he is actually excited about the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the 36-year-old Reaves:
"When I found out that Reaves was signing in Toronto, I was excited," said the chippy Habs forward. I'm someone who likes to play hard, so when there are guys like him on the other side, it makes things more interesting."
Pezzetta is no stranger to fighting Reaves as the two squared up on the 16th of November, 2021, when Reaves was with the New York Rangers:
"I don't know about you, but I was at center ice at Madison Square Garden, got my first point two games earlier and my first goal the game before that. So, this fight against him, for me, was a lot of fun."
Pezzetta doesn't back down from fighting either as the 25-year-old has 14 majors in parts of 2 seasons with the Canadiens. Last season he dropped the gloves against Maple Leafs' enforcer, Wayne Simmonds, as well as Tom Wilson, Auston Watson, Corey Perry, and Erik Gudbranson.
It will be an interesting first encounter when these two rivals face-off against one another. The Leafs do play Montreal three times in the pre-season - on the 29th and 30th of September, as well as the 2nd of October - before their season opener in Toronto on the 11th of October.
"We never know. Maybe I will have another opportunity to fight against him and, this time, it will be better."
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 23 | 479 ANSWERS Habs forward has challenged Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves to a scrap via the Montreal media Will Ryan Reaves and Michael Pezzetta drop the gloves on opening night on October 11th? | ||
| Yes | 369 | 77 % |
| No | 110 | 23 % |
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