After one other playoff disappointment, the Toronto Maple Leafs are taking a unique strategy this offseason. New common supervisor Brad Treliving, who changed Kyle Dubas earlier within the offseason, wasted no time placing his stamp on the roster.
Via the primary few days of free company, a transparent theme is rising amongst Trelawing’s first signings: He desires the staff to be tighter and tighter. That is mirrored within the signings of Tyler Bertozzi and Max Domi, however particularly with the addition of enforcer Ryan Reaves.
Reeves might not be a star, and even shut to 1, however he is a participant each hockey fan is aware of. That is as a result of he is arguably the most well-liked enforcer within the NHL, gaining notoriety fully due to his capacity to land large hits and drop the gloves. He now takes his skills to Toronto for a three-year deal value $4.05 million, or $1.35 million yearly.
There’s so much to interrupt down with this signing, so let’s do it and assign Reaves and the Maple Leafs a rank.
Maple Leafs Grade: D+
To begin with, Toronto being powerful and imply is one thing that really makes good sense. The Maple Leafs have acquired a number of criticism this window for being “tender” or “too straightforward to play towards,” and after leaving in free company with their finest offensive man in Michael Bunting, They wanted some encouragement. And credit score to Treliving, he did simply that.
Nonetheless, there’s a large distinction in how the Leafs have approached this subject with every of their signings. Bertuzzi and Domi may be pests for opposing groups, however may produce factors when wanted. Revis, alternatively, is principally simply an agitator, not contributing a lot apart from that. In case it wasn’t apparent, the primary sort of participant is a lot better than the second.
To additional illustrate this level, let’s check out Revis’ whole profession level manufacturing. His most efficient season got here in 2018-19 with the Vegas Golden Knights, when he set profession highs with 9 objectives and 20 factors. In different seasons, Revis normally averages round 10-15 factors and normally performs lower than 10 minutes an evening.
Revis’ sport has a spot within the league, and has been within the locker room all over the place he is gone. Nonetheless, that does not imply he is value a three-year deal. Sarcastically, he is the one one of many Leafs’ free-agent pickups to final greater than a 12 months, however he is simply probably the most risky of all of them. His $1.35-million cap hit is not that top, but it surely might be an issue for a cap-strapped staff like Toronto. That is particularly troubling when the contract takes him to age 39, which is a very long time.
This signing is not an entire catastrophe, but it surely’s an excessive amount of dedication for an excessive amount of reward.
Ryan Reeves’ grade: A+
Reaves completely cashed out with this deal and there isn’t any different solution to put it. He could have signed longer offers and the next AAV earlier than, however getting a candy deal like this at 36 will certainly make him joyful.
Revis might additionally assist Toronto obtain a long-awaited championship. As talked about earlier, he is a formidable locker room presence, and that might be invaluable with the psychological hurdles the Leafs face within the playoffs. Whereas his Ft on ice Considerably questionable, he must be an awesome addition off the ice.