"Make hockey violent again": Reaves backs Leafs teammate Rielly
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ resident tough guy has shared his thoughts on Morgan Rielly’s cross-check from Saturday night.
Ryan Reaves voiced his support for his teammate’s actions after Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig fired a slapshot into an empty net on a breakaway.
Rielly took exception to the play and sent Greig crashing to the ground with a cross-check to the head.
“If you rewind to when I came into the league, he’s probably still laying on the ice. I thought [Morgan Rielly’s response] was appropriate. I don’t see how a kid that young thinks it’s appropriate to do something like that,” said Reaves perĀ The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Ridly Greig buries the empty-netter with a slapshot and Morgan Rielly takes exception š³ pic.twitter.com/6NISK4AMSt
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 11, 2024
“Guy takes a clapper into our net, are you going to go play patty cake with him? There’s got to be a message sent,” said the power forward when discussing the play. “I don’t think a push is a message, to be honest with you. I thought it was appropriate.”
The 6-foot-2 forward has 20 penalty minutes and two goals in 25 games so far this season. He signed a three-year contract with the Leafs last summer.
“It’s unfortunate that a young kid like that can get away with something like that and then one of our best players is going to get suspended for it,” said Reaves to the media this morning. “Make hockey violent again. I’m going to get that tattooed on me.”
While Reaves made his stance clear, the hockey world was more split on whether Rielly’s reaction was appropriate. Some thought that the defenceman went overboard with the cross-check, while others thought that Grieg’s actions deserved this level of retaliation.
With an in-person hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, there is a good chance that the Leafs’ All-Star defenceman will get a long suspension. The hearing will take place at the NHL offices in New York and allows for the possibility that he’s suspended for six or more games.
“No, I don’t personally but I’m not the Department of Player Safety. Like I said before, I was expecting a fine, one game max,” said Reaves when asked if he thought the hearing was justified.
The 226-pound forward wasn’t the only one who was surprised by the league’s harsh reaction as head coach Sheldon Keefe also expressed some shock. He was quick to point to the bright spotlight on the team as a potential reason for the blowback.
“I think thereās a history also of events that happen in Toronto and with the Leafs that get more attention and more hype that tend to lead to something such as this,” he said, per Johnston.
As much as Sheldon Keefe was surprised Morgan Rielly got an in-person hearing, he added: "I think thereās a history also of events that happen in Toronto and with the Leafs that get more attention and more hype that tend to lead to something such as this."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 12, 2024
Rielly has 43 points in 50 games so far this season, good for seventh among all NHL blueliners. The Leafs are now preparing for life without their star defenceman and showed off some new pairings today at practice.