Why the Maple Leafs hold a special place in Ryan Reaves’ heart

A month after announcing his retirement from the NHL, Ryan Reaves was a guest on the JD Bunkis podcast this week.

Published Oct 16, 2026  •  2 minute read

Toronto Maple Leafs' Ryan Reaves during an optional skate at the Ford Performance Centre in 2025. Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun

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Ryan Reaves’ tenure with the Maple Leafs ended on a sour note.

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However, Reaves, who announced his retirement on Sept. 16 from the National Hockey League after a career that spanned 962 games with seven teams, carries no grudge.

It’s the opposite, in fact, as Reaves made that clear when he was a guest on the JD Bunkis podcast this week.

“I enjoyed my time in Toronto,” Reaves said. “I didn’t have my best part of my career there, for sure. There was a lot of ups and downs for me, but I think it was everything I expected.

“The team treated you better than any other team in the league. There’s a reason why wearing that jersey is so special, because how they treat you. You have to earn the right to play there, but it was cool. Throwing on the Original Six jersey and playing in front of those fans, it was fun.”

After signing a three-year contract with the Leafs in free agency in the summer of 2023, Reaves’ tenure with the organization petered out in 2024-25. He was placed on waivers on March 6, 2025, and didn’t skate in another game with the Leafs.

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A three-game stint with the Toronto Marlies marked the end of Reaves’ playing days in Toronto and he was traded to the San Jose Sharks the following July.

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Reaves, now considering a potential career on the media side, explained why the treatment by the Leafs toward their players was unlike anything he experienced anywhere else in the NHL.

“Some teams have different budgets,” Reaves, 39, said. “You go to anybody in the Toronto organization and you need something, and it’s not ‘I’ll see if I can do it, we don’t really do that here.’

“It’s ‘let me see how I can get it done.’ That was with every single thing in Toronto, whether it was a trainer or a medical guy or staff that works upstairs, whatever you wanted, you get.

“That’s why they are a first-class organization.”

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