Ryan Reaves is headed back to the Western Conference.
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded the veteran enforcer to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in a one-for-one exchange that sees defenseman Henry Thrun heading in the other direction.
Reaves played 84 games for the Maple Leafs over the past two seasons and has one more year remaining on the three-year, $4.05 million contract he signed with them in the summer of 2023.
The writing was on the wall for Reaves after a 2024-25 campaign saw him waived by Toronto and play three games in the AHL for the Marlies. He did not score a single goal in the 35 NHL games he played during the year.
Reaves was also ejected and subsequently suspended five games for a headshot on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in November. He also had a run-in with a stray dasherboard ad that stuck to his rear end in a game against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
The 38-year-old winger’s tumultuous tenure in Toronto ends after highlights such as claiming that the team kept him on injured reserve despite being healthy for weeks, declaring the return of “violence” to hockey, getting healthy scratched for another Game 7 in the playoffs, and calling some of his own team’s fans basement dwellers.
Tom Wilson’s self-proclaimed nemesis, now turned admirer, already had a long stint out in the NHL’s Pacific Division, playing four years (2017-2021) with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks would be his seventh NHL team, joining the Golden Knights, Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues.
Thrun is a 24-year-old rearguard with 119 games of NHL experience, all with the Sharks. In 60 games this past season, he recorded 12 points (2g, 10a) and averaged 17:31 of ice time per game. He has one year remaining on his contract, carrying a $1 million cap hit, before becoming a restricted free agent.
