One of the first signings that new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving completed was a three-year deal with free agent Ryan Reaves that came with a cap hit of $1.35 Million.
While the Toronto Maple Leafs have received plenty of criticism for the deal, but the fact is that he will be dressing for the club for the foreseeable future.
What the club gets is an intense forward that is arguably the most feared player in the league.
Once the season starts he can put the fanbase behind him by making himself known to a few players that have crossed the line with the team over the past few years.
The Top Five Public Enemies
Here is a list of five players that Reaves can introduce himself to.
Radko Gudas – Anaheim Ducks
I’d like to think that once Radko Gudas heard that Reaves had signed in Toronto he got as far away as possible as shortly after the Toronto Maple Leafs signing hit the media, Gudas signed in Anaheim.
The 33-year old defenseman had a long history around the league with making enemies, however he had not built up much of a reputation against the Leafs until this past season. Fans first started their hatred for Gudas in January this past year when after a borderline low hit on Pierre Engvall, he refused to drop the gloves.
After Gudas had sent the lanky forward to the ice on the questionable hit, to which Zach Aston-Reese came over to engage in a fight, however Gudas stood there doing nothing drawing ZAR into a roughing penalty.
During this past playoff series, Gudas had a very dangerous and unpenalized hit on David Kampf after the whistle. Kampf lucky enough was not injured and was able to get up from the play, but Gudas like far too often got away with no penalty.
The final offense was on the very last play of the season. With the Leafs playoff hopes on the fringe and in overtime, Nick Cousins led an odd-man rush against Toronto. As Cousins stepped into the middle of the ice in the offensive zone, Calle Järnkrok was unable to get a stick in the lane and the Florida forward was able to score the series clinching overtime goal.
The replay showed that the reason Järnkrok was unable to properly make the play on Cousins was that Gudas had grabbed onto the Maple Leafs players stick was dragging him away. In typical Gudas fashion and showing no sportsmanship, he stood overtop of the rookie Joseph Woll screaming in his face.
You’d like to think that Reaves could meet up with Gudas when the two teams meet in January, but if Gudas is too scared to drop the gloves with ZAR, you’d expect a full turtle against Reaves.