Ryan Reaves Shares Honest Thoughts on Auston Matthews as Maple Leafs Captain
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol
Former Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves shared his candid thoughts on Auston Matthews as captain, and might have been throwing a bit of shade his way.
It was a trade that seemingly sparked quite the firestorm in recent weeks, because when the Maple Leafs sent Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks for Henry Thrun, little did they know what was about to kick off.
Reaves has been on a bit of a media tour in the past couple of weeks, with him starting off by defending Mitch Marner's sign-and-trade and subsequent extension, then essentially calling the team out for scratching him several times.
Ryan Reaves praises but also quietly calls out Auston Matthews
He's continued poking the bear as he gave another interview on Monday and was asked about his former captain Auston Matthews and how he was as a leader. Was he reserved like John Tavares? Did he bark out tirades in the locker room?
According to Reaves; it was lead by example...though he didn't seem to enjoy that too much:
I think a lot of his leadership is led by example. He works incredibly hard in practice. And on the ice, I think you see how hard he works in all three zones. Obviously, grinding through some issues this year, and, you know, really trying to grind through it for the team.
I think maybe not the most vocal captain I've ever had, but everybody leads differently, right? You can't be the most vocal and the most leading by example, you can't, you can't do it all. It's just, it's hard to find those guys.
I think maybe not the most vocal captain I've ever had, but everybody leads differently, right? You can't be the most vocal and the most leading by example, you can't, you can't do it all. It's just, it's hard to find those guys.
Auston Matthews, please speak up a bit!
It's a brazen bit of honesty from Reaves that could be seen as a bit of a slight to the Leafs captain.
Why can't Matthews be both? His on-ice leadership and lead-by-example mentality is already well known, so if he gets a little louder in the locker room, I don't think anyone would mind, or be too surprised.
Plus, was John Tavares the most vocal captain? No, but he also didn't take a lot of nonsense from his opponents. Perhaps Reaves was hoping Matthews would push back more on negative issues, or things he felt needed adjusting.
What of Brady Tkachuk, or Jamie Benn? They are two captains who lead by example on the ice but aren't afraid to speak when they need to.
While Reaves finds it hard to be vocal and lead by example, Matthews must have found it hard to have the dead weight of his former enforcer weighing the team down at points.
As great as locker room presence as he seemingly is, Reaves is a shell of what a modern day player in the NHL is and the archaic style of play offered Toronto no benefits going forward; especially in his late 30's.
So though he may hold resentment towards Toronto for how he was sparingly used, it seems Ryan Reaves still believes in Auston Matthews.
Even if it doesn't sound like it.
More details to come.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 2421 ANSWERS Ryan Reaves Shares Honest Thoughts on Auston Matthews as Maple Leafs Captain Do you think Ryan Reaves is throwing shade at how Auston Matthews leads? | ||
| Yes | 1425 | 58.9 % |
| No | 996 | 41.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
