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The Toronto Maple Leafs' marriage with Ryan Reaves did not go as anyone hoped. Coveted for his physicality and hard-nosed presence, the veteran right winger showed the full effects of Father Time. He played just 84 games across the last two seasons and failed to make a noticeable impact in his limited time on ice, totaling just eight points in that span. When the team placed him on waivers in March, the writing was on the wall.
That omen came to fruition on July 10, when the Leafs traded Reaves to the San Jose Sharks for young defenseman Henry Thrun. It was time for both parties to go in separate directions. The 38-year-old sought a fresh start, clearly unhappy with his role on the squad. He explained his reasoning for wanting out, just days after landing on his seventh different NHL franchise.
“I think there was just a lack of trust very early in the season,” Reaves told TSN reporter Mark Masters. “It just looked like {if} I had one bad game, I was out of the lineup for four, five, six, seven, eight, nine games. I'd come back in {and} have a good game, but {get} taken right back out. I just really could never gain any momentum with my game.
“And it's hard to play like that. It's hard to play when you're only playing every five, six games. They didn't see a fit for me in the lineup, and it is what it is. That's also part of the business.”
Ryan Reaves suggests there was a “lack of trust” leading to his ice time diminishing in Toronto last season.
(h/t @markhmasters) pic.twitter.com/egRtubMNfN
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 12, 2025
Ryan Reaves, Maple Leafs trudge ahead after trade
Toronto general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube had a vision, and Reaves was clearly not an important part of it. An aging enforcer must change the energy in the arena when he is given the opportunity to skate. The 2005 fifth-round draft pick, who has played 912 NHL games in 15 years, did not appear to meet that standard as often as the Maple Leafs preferred. He told Treliving he wished to go elsewhere at the end of the season.
Considering that Reaves finished the year in the AHL and did not dress for the Leafs during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a split seemed to be in the best interest of all involved. Perhaps the Sharks will place more value on the forward's present talents. They have prioritized experience this summer, adding players who have been around the block a few times.
Ryan Reaves could be exactly what San Jose is looking for in this stage of its rebuild. While he is still unlikely to be a workhorse, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native should receive more playing time. While he begins this new and possibly final chapter of his NHL career, Toronto moves toward what it hopes is an invigorating era of Maple Leafs hockey.
