Ryan Reaves Makes History with a Rare Distinction Before Maple Leafs Departure

Even though it was a necessary deal at the end of the day, the trade of Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks did catch everyone by surprise. Toronto was able to move on from his contract, and bring in a promising young defenseman in the process.

His departure may have been caused by some comments he made regarding Mitch Marner's transition to Vegas, and while the Maple Leafs are better off without him, he is going to be missed in the locker room.

But one thing that he'll leave behind is something that no other Toronto player is ever going to be able to do. With him heading out West, Reaves becomes the last player to go without a visor to play for the team.

While Reaves leaves as the last Maple Leaf to go the old school route, there is a chance that Toronto acquires either Ryan O'Reilly or Jamie Benn; which would render Reaves' historic feat moot.

It's more than likely he will end up as the last Maple Leaf to wear one, and it rings of a time long past, where protection was secondary and often seen as a potential sign of weakness.

The visor became mandatory at the beginning of the 2013-14 NHL season, and Reaves was one of several players that were grandfathered in such as O'Reilly, Benn, Jordie Benn (Jamie's brother), Milan Lucic and former Leafs forward Matt Martin.

It comes in the vein of the 1979 season, where helmets became mandatory and saw the league dwindle to only a handful of players, with former Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish being the last after his retirement in 1997.

The mark also just goes to show how long Reaves has stuck around, going into his 16th season in the league. In his 912 games he has 137 points (63 goals, 74 assists) and 1,100 penalty minutes.

Reaves has spent time with St. Louis, Minnesota, Vegas, Pittsburgh, New York, and Toronto.

It's probably a good thing that the league has made helmets and visors mandatory, as we've still seen serious injuries with them, so one can only imagine how the game would look without them; especially with the speed of the modern game.

While Reaves might end up being the last player to wear a visor in Toronto, it's a neat little bullet point on an otherwise unremarkable stint.