Ryan Reaves figured that Darnell Nurse got it right.
Kind of.
Fresh off a five-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Nurse, Reaves on Tuesday held court with media for the first time since the play on Nov. 16 against the Edmonton Oilers and the suspension levied by the National Hockey League that came the following day.
“The only truth that he spoke was I go out there to inflict pain,” Reaves said after taking his customary spot on the Maple Leafs fourth line at practice. “That’s a fact and that’s not going to stop. But I’m going to continue to do it legally. I’m going to keep playing hard, if not harder now, and I’m going to keep burying guys.”
In the days after the hit, Nurse, who missed three games with an upper-body injury, was asked about the incident.
“You can argue about the intent,” the Oilers defenceman said on Nov. 21. “But there are certain guys in the league that, every shift they go out there, they try to inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on there.”
Sitting in his stall at the Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday, Reaves shrugged.
“When you get caught by somebody, you’re entitled to your opinion and that’s fine,” Reaves said. “But I think my 900 games (893 in the NHL) and however many thousands of hits I have (3,006) speaks for itself. I play physically every game and I’ve doing it for 15 years.”
The suspension was Reaves’ fourth during his NHL career and first since the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. This season, prior to the hit on Nurse that resulted in a match penalty, Reaves had taken just four minors. He hasn’t fought in a game since last April 6 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Reaves’ previous longest suspension was three games. What did he think of sitting for five games?
“I don’t want to get into that,” the 37-year-old veteran said. “I already told the kids that Christmas is cancelled and I don’t want to get fined again (the suspension cost him $35,156.25 US in lost wages). It’s over and we’re just going leave it at that.”
Reaves said he doesn’t have a relationship with Nurse, though he confirmed he attempted to apologize to Nurse that night.
Reaves said his intent was to make contact with Nurse in the body, not the head.
“Just took a couple inches (from) too bad of an angle and caught him,” Reaves said. “An unfortunate incident and, if I’m a second later, I catch body. Something you don’t want to see, but it was just a split-second too late or too early.
“I’m not in the box a lot and I try to play within the rules of the game. When something like that happens and a hit gets away from me, I don’t want any see anybody laying on the ice with a head injury.”
Though the Leafs have been playing good hockey — they were 4-1 without Reaves and have won nine of their past 11 — coach Craig Berube will welcome the big winger back for the game on Wednesday night at home against the Nashville Predators.
Defenceman Jake McCabe also will return to the Toronto lineup. He didn’t play in the Leafs’ 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after he took a shot off the head versus Tampa Bay on Saturday.
Centre Max Domi (lower body) practised with the Leafs for the first time since going on injured reserve on Nov. 20 and winger Max Pacioretty (lower body) also took part. Neither will play against Nashville.
Assistant coach Marc Savard missed practice because he was sick, but is expected to be behind the bench on Wednesday, Berube said.
Regarding Reaves, Berube was glad to know he can use him again.
“He brings a lot to our team,” Berube said. “He’s a great locker room guy, he’s a great team guy. The toughness that he brings, when he’s on the ice, people know he’s out there. He’s a physical player, and he’s a smart player. He does things right defensively, and he drives our game.
“I know it was a long stretch because the games were spread out, which is difficult for him, but at the same time, he got a lot of good work in, practised at skating and doing extra stuff.”
Reaves’ linemates at practice were centre Connor Dewar and rookie winger Nikita Grebenkin.
“There’s not a good day to get suspended, but it was the worst possible day with how little we played,” Reaves said. “We played one game in the first week and then another one in five days. It has been a long stint.
“I’m excited to get back in the lineup with the boys and bring more energy.”
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