Craig Berube Under Fire for Controversial Decision to Keep Dressing Ryan Reaves

Since signing with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2023, Ryan Reaves has been tasked with one job: Fight. He had several big tilts last season with names like Arber Xhekaj and Matt Rempe and is supposed to be a lightningbolt for the team.

Into 2024 though, it's more like the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. No fights this season, no offensive production (minus one assist), and a complete defensive liability have led to Toronto being actively handicapped by their enforcer. Heck, even his own team indirectly took a jab at him:

Toronto's bottom half of the lineup has struggled since the beginning of the season. Yes, Nicholas Robertson has struggled, and Max Domi is under fire for not producing to his contract amount. Not to mention the other misfits in action that Craig Berube trots out every night.

Much emphasis on Reaves playing an enforcer role has a lot to do with how Berube played in his time, but it's not 30 years ago. Teams more often than not don't deploy traditional enforcers because there's seldom a need, and it takes a spot away from someone who can contribute.

Fans aren't pleased either. Reaves isn't doing a great job at either end of the ice, and the supposed spark he's meant to give the team seems like nothing but a flicker in the darkness:

He's not a cheap liability either, coming in at $1.35M for this season and the next. It's a terrible contract for zero production and there's no point in keeping Reaves for the sake of the team, both on and off the ice. Reaves is a fantastic teammate and a great locker-room presence, but that doesn't translate to anything during a game.

Toronto has other options they can put in place of Reaves, and while they aren't necessarily the flashiest options, they can at least do more.

Adding Connor Dewar or Pontus Holmberg to the 4th line would give Toronto either more scoring or size, and the fact David Kampf and Steven Lorentz are decent offensively, it could be their chance to break out of this horrible slump.

The fact that Reaves has sat only three games this year is mind-boggling, considering that Berube has sat Nick Robertson more, and you'd think the team would want to at least give him a chance to shine more (especially if he's headed out).

Craig Berube's insistence on keeping Reaves in the lineup is actively hurting the team, both because he doesn't produce offensively, is two steps behind on defense, and and isn't doing the literal one job he was tasked with.

While Reaves is still wearing the blue and white, however, he's also seemingly wearing a shade of yellow underneath.