The Vegas Golden Knights signed Ryan Reaves for two more years. Reaves and the Golden Knights have agreed to a two-year extension worth an AAV of $1.75 million. Reaves also went on the Golden Knights’ social media accounts to announce the news.
Some may say that it’s a bit pricey for a player like Reaves, but he’s been a key factor to why the Golden Knights have been able to be successful in their first three years of existence. With that said, here is a break down two key factors from Reaves’ game that he can bring for the Golden Knights in the next two years.
Size and Strength
Reaves is known to be a physical player on the ice utilizing his size and strength on both ends of the ice. He is a true fourth liner giving out brutal hits and knows how to brawl effectively to give the Golden Knights a boost if they need one during a game. One would think that Reaves would rack up penalty minutes for the way he plays. In actuality, he doesn’t. He knows what hits to deliver and not deliver. Reaves is one of just 12 “high volume hitters” (forwards that accumulate 400 plus hits in the last two seasons) in the league. Reaves averages just about 22 hits before committing a penalty which ranks him first out of the 12 high volume hitters. He’s also the league’s top player in number of hits in the last two seasons with 621 hits. Opponents shouldn’t take Reaves lightly because if they do, well, they have something to look forward to if or when they’re on the ice against him.
Reliability
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65Ef1hQARBI]
Reaves averaged more than 10 minutes per game in both seasons with the Golden Knights. Before coming to Vegas, his career high in minutes was 8:53. This resulted from better training regimens to better himself as an NHL player. He may not be a prolific scorer like some of his teammates, but he can be reliable on the five-on-five. Take the game against Nashville on November 27, 2019. It was the final 13 seconds of the third period between the Golden Knights and the Nashville Predators with the Golden Knights down 3-2. As the clock reaches about two seconds, Reaves went down to the low slot to block the view of Predators’ goaltender Juuse Saros so that Golden Knights right winger Mark Stone can make a pass to Golden Knights left winger Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty then tied the game with 0.3 seconds left in the third period. Talk about making split decisions in a matter of seconds.
Reaves may never win a scoring title in the NHL, but he deserves some award for the work he’s done in his 13 years in the league. What is that award? Well, it’s not just an award it’s a championship. The Stanley Cup championship. There are more deserving players that many think should win the Stanley Cup before their career ends, but Reaves definitely deserves it especially in the last two years he’s been with and brought to Vegas. To put it in Reaves’ own words, “Now I can win a Stanley Cup this year. I can do it.”
Ryan Reaves has some news for ya 😎 #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/4Mc1AWgiBJ
— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 15, 2020