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Ryan Reaves felt Maple Leafs ‘lacked trust’ in his game last season

July 12, 2025 by The Leafs Nation

Ryan Reaves believes Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube lost trust in his ability to contribute, which in the end, was the main factor for the veteran enforcer being dealt out of Toronto.

Leafs general manager Brad Treliving traded Reaves to the San Jose Sharks earlier this week, and the very candid Reaves hasn’t been shy talking about his time in Toronto.

“I think there was just a lack of trust very early in the season,” Reaves said during a media availability with the Sharks . “It just looked like (if) I had one bad game, I was out of the lineup for four, five, six, seven, eight, nine games. I’d come back in, have a good game, but taken right back out. I just really could never gain any momentum with my game, couldn’t really gain any traction.”

Reaves was in and mostly out of the lineup during his tenure as a Maple Leaf, either dealing with a lower-body injury, or in the press box as a healthy scratch. He played a total of 84 regular season games throughout two seasons, and it was unfortunate how things played out for him in blue and white, especially after his first season started on a high note in 2023-24.

“I started the season two years ago very well, and then things just started going really wrong for me, and all of a sudden this whole city wanted me out of there.”

Reaves tried to put the injury troubles behind him last summer, and focused on his skating throughout the 2024 offseason, as he looked to find ways to stay in the game. He knew the league was getting younger and faster, and as a veteran towards the end of his NHL career, give him credit for trying to shape his game, and continue to evolve. Despite the training, Reaves appeared a step behind most nights when he played, and it became obvious Berube felt the Leafs had better options to dress up front.

“I told (Treliving) at the end of the year, I just thought that this wasn’t, obviously, a good fit,” Reaves said. “I’m assuming he probably thought the same after putting me on waivers and sending me to the minors, and just thought it was kind of time to part ways.”

Being waived and demoted at 38 years old is a tough pill to swallow, and frankly, that became the beginning of the end for Reaves as a Leaf. Now, he’s a Shark, and he’s excited to bring some veteran leadership to a very young roster in San Jose.

PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.

Filed Under: Maple Leafs

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