Maple Leafs Make Bold Playoff Roster Move Involving Fan Favorite Ryan Reaves

When the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to demote Ryan Reaves to the Toronto Marlies at the trade deadline in order to add some much needed roster and cap room for both Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo. It was a necessary move that could have signalled the end of his NHL career.

Not much was expected of the forward after the demotion, and while he did find a tad bit of a scoring touch with the junior squad, he was conspicuously absent from Toronto's game against Utica, leading to questions about where he is.

Well, we now know he's going to be part of Toronto's playoff roster after the team decided to call him up on Friday.

It's unknown if Craig Berube is going to put Reaves into the lineup, or perhaps he is just there as insurance and also providing some much needed morale boosts when things get tough.

Reaves was often a healthy scratch this season. In 35 games, he posted two assists, 103 hits, and a minus-2 rating, while only fighting once this season.

There's a lot of questions surrounding where Reaves fits into the lineup, especially with how successful Toronto has been recently. With 13 wins in 16 games, the team has done everything possible to give them the advantage heading into the playoffs.

They clinched home-ice, won the division for the first time in 25 years (not counting the COVID-shortened season with adjusted divisions) and set themselves up for a Battle of Ontario series that's going to give fans a lot of excitement and harken back to the early 2000s where the two teams often faced off in the postseason.

Adding Reaves into the equation would be messing with the recipe for success, and while he would be able to add some extra toughness and physicality against a hungry and motivated Ottawa team; his lack of a skillset elsewhere will hurt.

There is a possibility someone like Pontus Holmberg might see himself out of the lineup, but there's also a lot of concern about Max Pacioretty's return and where he also fits into the equation.

Whether or not Reaves actually enters the lineup remains to be seen, but if the Maple Leafs run into an Ottawa team who won't think twice about playing a little dirty, then perhaps they need their veteran enforcer to step in for a moment.