During the 2023 offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed free agent Ryan Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million deal to provide some added toughness and leadership to their lineup.
After getting roughed up by the Florida Panthers during the second round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs felt that they needed to add more grit and snarl to their lineup to ensure that their players don’t get pushed around that easily anymore.
In addition, Reaves had shown in the past that he could provide some supplementary scoring as well, as just last season, he put up five goals and 15 points after joining the Minnesota Wild for the final 61 games of NHL season.