After losing a tough one to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this week, the Leafs bounced back in a big way last night with a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes to get right back into the win column. The Leafs have now won 8 of their last 10 games, going 8-2-0, which included a 7-game win streak. The boys are looking pretty good of late, and a lot of this is because, since the Rielly suspension, they've all been playing for one another.
Back when the Leafs signed Ryan Reaves to a 3-year deal worth $1.35M per season last summer, the deal was viewed as a bit too rich on both term and salary, but the thought process was that Reavo was a glue guy who could really pull the team together and drag them into the fight. However, after a tumultuous start in Toronto, Reaves was eventually relegated to the press box for long stretches. However, since returning from injury a month or so ago, he has been solid and the Leafs have benefitted from having him in the lineup in a big way.
It's not just Reaves' play that has drastically improved of late, but his presence in the lineup has also provided his teammates with a lot of energy. When he dropped the gloves with Liam O'Brien last night, you saw some of that energy come out when the team's brightest star, Auston Matthews, celebrated Reavo's epic fight win and post-fight bicep flex celly. Matthews was over the moon, as were the rest of Reavo's teammates.
A guy like Reavo may not necessarily help you on the scoresheet every night, but he certainly does help on the bench and in the locker room. Yes, there are some positive on-ice impacts as well, but the true benefit to having Reaves is what he brings out in his teammates. Just take one look at Matthews' reaction to his fight and tell me Reaves still has no value to this team.
