On the first day of free agency, the Leafs signed Ryan Reaves to a 3-year deal that will see him earn $1.3M per season. Many Leaf fans were happy with the signing, though maybe not the term. Either way, Brad Treliving was able to add a lot of physicality and toughness to the Leafs' bottom six as well as bring in a new type of personality into the room. He continued to add some sandpaper and grit with the signings of Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi which fans were also pleased with.
Today on Leafs' Morning Take, one former NHL revealed that he is not a fan of the Leafs signing Reaves. Former NHLer and one of the league's best former pests, Sean Avery, discussed the Reaves signing and took a very hypocritical stance regarding his presence on the team.
The hypocrisy in Avery's comment is due to he himself having created a "him" show wherever he played. Hell, he even had a rule created after his antics in the playoffs when he stood face-to-face with Martin Brodeur waving his stick and arms in front of him. Avery is the last person that should be saying that Reaves will become a sideshow in Toronto when he was always hell-bent on becoming a sideshow when he played.
From his comments in the media (on Dion Phaneuf and wife Elisha Cuthbert), to his actions with Brodeur and his push-up goal celebration, Avery always wanted to be the centre of attention. Throughout his career, Reaves has never really created a sideshow the way Avery did and has never been the center of attention unless it revolved around a hit or fight or something that was part of the game.
Will the Leafs live to regret the Reaves signing? Maybe, but I highly doubt that it would have anything to do with hogging the spotlight, if that's what Avery is suggesting.
