Maple Leafs Make Surprising Decision Involving Ryan Reaves Following 5-Game Suspension
While Ryan Reaves would like to speak on his hit and subsequent suspension, the Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly rejected the idea.
By now, everyone has either seen or heard about the Ryan Reaves incident that took place on Saturday night against the Edmonton Oilers. The enforcer delivered a crushing check towards Edmonton Oilers' defenseman Darnell Nurse that left him dazed and bloodied.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety threw the book at the obvious suspension-worthy hit and handed Reaves a 5-game ban. Surprisingly, they didn't request an in-person hearing, which would have allowed George Parros to suspend him for more than 5 games, but it also would've allowed the Leafs to appeal - though they may not have, based on the circumstances.
Nevertheless, everyone under the sun has spoken about the incident except for the perpetrator himself, Ryan Reaves. However, that was purposely orchestrated by the Maple Leafs. While Reaves is willing to speak about the hit and suspension, the Maple Leafs aren't letting that happen - at least as of right now.
While some of his teammates and his head coach have spoken out in defense of his character, Craig Berube also understood that that was the exact type of hit that the NHL is trying to crack down on and understood the suspension through and through.
This most recent suspension is the fourth of Reaves' career and his first since 2021. He has also been fined twice, which makes him a rather popular player with the Department of Player Safety, who were not about to go easy on the multi-time offender.
Reaves will be out of the lineup until at least the 4th of December, at which point it'll be up to Berube and company to decide when he next sees the ice.
In the interim, the Maple Leafs had already called up Alex Steeves from the minors but they also brought up Fraser Minten with David Kampf heading to the IR with a lower-body injury.
The Leafs hit the ice next on Wednesday night when they host the Vegas Golden Knights.
