Maple Leafs' Ryan Reaves Plays 900th NHL Game – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

There is certainly debate over whether or not he remains an asset in the NHL, but that hasn't stopped Toronto Maple Leafs tight end Ryan Reaves from playing in his 900th NHL regular season game on Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars.

Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves skates in his 900th NHL game tonight.

– Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) December 19, 2024

The 37-year-old has suited up for six teams in his NHL career – including the Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues – has played the last 72 games with the Maple Leafs with four goals and seven points in that span.

First drafted by the Blues in the fifth round, 156th overall, in 2005, Reaves has been one of the most feared enforcers in the game since his debut in 2010-11. During that time, he accumulated 63 goals and 136 points in 900 games played, including a career-high nine goals and 20 points in 80 games for the Golden Knights in 2018-19.

He also amassed 1,095 penalty minutes in that span, peaking at 126 in 2013-14 with the Blues.

Reaves has seen his role diminish over the past few seasons, but he continues to be a stalwart on the teams who joins his team in the hallway before games and participates and leads team events at each stop during his NHL journey.

Related: Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Cowan, Akhtyamov & Holinka

Reaves is the 563rd NHL player to reach 900 games played and the 14th player since the 2005 NHL Draft to reach the milestone.

If nothing else, Reaves can hang his head on the fact that he has been one of the most consistent physical presences over the past 15 seasons. A stat they didn't record all season, however, in the time they have, Reaves ranks seventh with 3,032 hits.

Signing with the Maple Leafs was part of a change made by the franchise to bring a tougher, more physical presence to play alongside their stars like Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews and even though he still suited up for 72 games in the last two seasons, his presence. in the room help the group to have a strong mind.

Even as Max Pacioretty signed this offseason with the Maple Leafs, he commented on what it meant to have Reaves as a teammate and said his former Golden Knights teammate was one of the best guys to have around.

As for whether he can reach the 1,000 game plateau, that will depend on whether he can continue to play a solid role in the NHL system and what direction the league takes.