Ryan Reaves opens up about his AHL Marlies debut following demotion from Maple Leafs - "S**t, everybody's tweeting this out"

Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves made his feelings known about the time he spent with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies this past season.

An article in The Hockey News on July 9 captured Reaves’ comments from his appearance on the Cam and Strick Podcast.

Reaves talked about his demotion to the Marlies following the Maple Leafs’ deadline acquisitions of Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton. The Leafs, needing to clear cap space, made the paper transaction to assign Ryan Reaves to the Marlies.

Reaves, however, didn’t report to the team right away. Instead, by his admission, he remained with the Maple Leafs’ coaches. Reaves elaborated this point by stating:

“They didn't tell me I had to go play. I was actually skating with the skills coach for a couple weeks, but the boys went on the road for a couple road trips and I started getting bored. I hadn't seen anybody, I just wanted to be part of something.”

So, Reaves decided to suit up for a series of home games the Marlies had scheduled at the time. However, he ran into an unexpected situation during his first AHL appearance. League rules demand that players wear visors.

Reaves, given his tenure in the NHL, doesn’t wear one. So, Reaves tried to fudge the rules somewhat.

He stated:

"It's funny about the visor because the first game, it was tilted all the way up, right, and I didn't really think anything of it, I just thought it was just going to fly under the radar, but it was all over the internet. So then, I was like, 'Oh s**t, everybody's tweeting this out.' Game two, I played, I was like, somebody's going to say something and nobody said anything.”

Eventually, the team got a courtesy call from AHL officials requesting that Reaves follow league guidelines regarding the use of visors.

Reaves tried to comply with the mandate. When he asked the on-ice officials about enforcing the visor rules, the referee stated, per Reaves:

“I don't give a s**t what you do."

Reaves remains on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster as he has one more year left on his three-year contract. His future in Toronto is uncertain, but he could still be in the mix for a fourth-line role this upcoming season.

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Ryan Reaves makes feelings known about former NY Rangers teammate

Ryan Reaves spent parts of two seasons with the New York Rangers - Source: Imagn

The NY Post collected additional comments by Ryan Reaves from his appearance on the Cam and Strick Podcast.

The Post quoted Reaves on the comments he made regarding former NY Rangers teammate Artemi Panarin. Reaves and Panarin played together for parts of two seasons, from 2021 to 2023.

During that time, the two grew close. Reaves described how he and Panarin spent one off day doing vodka shots and playing basketball at 4 am.

Reaves also spoke about how he acted like Panarin’s “secretary,” by reminding the Russian star about games and team meetings.

That experience with Panarin prompted Reaves to declare the following:

“He is one of the coolest guys, one of the coolest Russians I’ve met. Him and his wife [are] so humble.”

Reaves left the Rangers after a midseason trade in 2023. Despite the relatively short time he and Panarin spent together, Reaves hasn’t forgotten the great person that The Breadman has become.