
#4. Ryan Reaves
You may only know Reaves as a fighter, but he’s actually a very reliable fourth-line player.
With a 54.8 Corsi Rating over the last two seasons, Reaves is your modern-day tough guy. He can fight anyone else in the league, but can also contribute to the overall success of the team.
You’re not going to rely on Reaves to score every night, but you’re also not going to have to bench him late in the third period in a big game. He’s shown that he can be very steady, which is all you can ask for someone like this.
Although Reaves is a good player in his role, he’s still making way too much money. His current contract pays him $2.75 million, which about $1.25 million too much.
Reaves is a very similar player to Kyle Clifford, who currently makes $1.6 million per season, and you could argue that Clifford is actually more valuable offensively.
As a result, if the Leafs were able to strike a deal with Reaves and get him for closer to a million, he’d be a great replacement player for Clifford if they don’t re-sign him or a complimentary player to him as well.