Ryan Reaves Fires Parting Shot at the Maple Leafs After Trade to the San Jose Sharks

The Toronto Maple Leafs orchestrated a late-night trade with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, sending veteran forward Ryan Reaves out west for young defenseman Henry Thrun.

Reaves had a bit of tumultuous tenure with the Leafs that ended with the enforcer being placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to the minors with the Toronto Marlies, which he wasn't too thrilled about.

The writing was on the wall with the Maple Leafs trying to open up cap space and a roster spot for incoming forward depth. However, in an interesting turn of events, it was actually Reaves who initiated the trade conversation as he told GM Brad Treliving that Toronto was no longer a fit for him.

That wasn't all that Reaves talked about as he opened up about his diminished role with the club that forced him to have the conversation with Treliving in the first place, as reported by TSN's Mark Masters.

Reaves ended up only playing in 35 games, which was his lowest total since his rookie season in 2010-11. On top of that, he added just 2 assists but did provide 28 PIMs and 103 hits in just 7:48 ATOI.

When it came to the fighting, Reaves only ended up in one tussle, which was with Mathieu Olivier out of Columbus. With that being his true calling card, it was hard to keep him in the every day lineup if it was no longer required.

While Reaves was unhappy with his usage in Toronto, he'll now have a better shot to actually play in San Jose, which may help him get to the 1,000 game mark, which he so desperately wants to reach before he retires in a couple of years.