Burning Questions For the 2025-26 Season: Ryan Reaves

With the 2025-26 season now in sight, the plan is to address the burning questions surrounding every player on the roster (or competing for a roster spot). These questions are focused on how the player is expected to contribute to the Sharks this season and what their role will be.

Ryan Reaves
6'2" 225lbs
38 years old
2005 5th round pick

Last Season

Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL)
35 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 7:48 TOI

Toronto Marlies (AHL)
3 games, 1 goal, 0 assists

Ryan Reaves was signed by the Maple Leafs for three seasons in the summer of 2023 to help bring both physical and mental toughness to an organization that has lacked one more than the other. Last year, he played in about half of the Leafs' games, averaging 7:48 per night. That is the 6th lowest time on ice among players who played at least 20 games last season. He was suspended for five games for an illegal hit to the head of Edmonton's Darnell Nurse.

This summer, Reaves was traded to the Sharks in exchange for defenseman Henry Thrun. Reaves is entering the final season of his three-year contract, which pays him $1.35 million annually.

Burning Question

What else can Reaves do?

Ryan Reaves was brought to San Jose to help protect their young star forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Reaves has long been recognized as one of the toughest players in the NHL and a true heavyweight among modern-day enforcers.

While his menacing glare on the bench will (hopefully) help to protect Celebrini and Smith as they do cool shit on the ice, Reaves has struggled to provide actual on-ice value. Last season, when Reaves was on the ice, the opposing team generated 118 scoring chances compared to 75 for the team. This 38.86 scoring chance percentage was the 8th-worst in the NHL among players who played at least 200 minutes. While Reaves is on the ice, other teams salivate because they have an on-ice advantage.

Pair this with Barclay Goodrow who has some of the worst analytics in the NHL, this could be a brutal fourth line that gets caved in on most shifts. Are you really putting Celebrini and Smith in a position to succeed if they have to follow up Reaves and pull the team out of the defensive zone? While keeping the occasional instigator from coming after Celebrini and Smith is necessary, having a fourth line that can do more than spend a minute defending one a nightly basis seems more useful.

Expectations

Ryan Reaves will do Ryan Reaves things in warm-ups and fight the occasional tough guy, but will most likely not have much of an on-ice impact.

It will be interesting to see how Reaves is handled. If the Sharks face a roster crunch, will he be waived to make room for a young player who can provide more on-ice value? While Reaves should be a solid presence in the room, at some point, the actual play matters, and there is little proof that Reaves has much left in the tank.