Ex-Leafs enforcer gets 100% honest about Ryan Reaves trade from Toronto

Ryan Reaves was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday in exchange for defenseman Henry Thurn. This will be Reaves' seventh team in his NHL career, where he has played 912 regular season games and 113 playoff games.

Reaves signed a three-year $4.05 million contract with the Leafs with a $1.35 million annual average value. The veteran enforcer was involved in seven fights in his first season with the team, but his pairing with David Kampf didn't yield much success.

Reaves' presence decreased heavily last season, as he was only had one fight. He was demoted to Toronto's minor league affiliate, the Marlies, to clear out his cap space at the trade deadline.

According to Leafs Morning Take analyst and former NHL enforcer Jay Rosehill, that could have factored in as one of the reasons for his move.

"I imagine Reavo wasn't pleased with his situation, going down to the Marlies for the first time," Rosehill said on Thursday.

"Who knows when the last time Reavo was in the minors. I'm sure he wants to play out his contract in the National Hockey League. So whether he put the bird in the air or what, it doesn't really matter. I'm sure he was happy to go somewhere where he had opportunity to play."

There was also discussion between Rosehill and Nick Alberga about Reaves' trade coming, and he called out the duality of hockey fans in a market like Toronto. It may have also led to Mitch Marner's move.

“There are two sides to fans in Toronto," Reaves said on Tuesday (1:42:00), via "The Cam & Strick Podcast." "I think there's the ones who just want to win so bad that they will drag anybody through the dirt, and loyal fans that just want to support the team.”

Ryan Reaves makes feelings known after trade to San Jose

In his first interview after getting dealt, Ryan Reaves admitted that he saw the trade coming. He accepted that he doesn't want to play in the minors as he is aiming to reach 1,000 NHL games.

“You can see the writing on the wall. You’re not playing. You’re not really involved anymore,” Reaves said on Thursday, via Sportsnet. “You know, it was tough. I hadn’t played in the AHL for 15 years now. It’s not somewhere I want to go back to, but that’s the nature of the business.

“I’d rather go play and be part of something than just kind of be sitting in limbo and doing nothing.”

A move to San Jose, a team closer to Reaves' home in Vegas, will likely help him as he will get more playing time. With the Leafs acquiring players like Nicolas Roy and Mattias Macelli, Reaves would be relegated to a fifth line spot. Michael Perzetta is also expected to spend most of their time away from the main roster.