By Jordan Long
The NHL suspended play on March 12th due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are eager to restart the season sometime this summer, but a date has not been announced. They are currently in phase 2 which is noncontact skating for players in small groups at team facilities. The NHL hopes to be in phase 3 which would allow franchises to start training camp in early July. Even though the year isn’t over, the Vegas Golden Knights decided to sign right winger Ryan Reaves to a new contract.
Reaves was traded to the Golden Knights from the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 23rd, 2018. This was to improve the depth of the team. In 172 games with the Golden Knights, Reaves scored 17 goals and added 20 assists for a total of 37 points. This season Reaves lit the lamp 8 times and assisted on 7 goals for a total of 15 points.
The Golden Knights could have let Reaves test free agency once this season is over. They decided it was best to keep him. The deal is for two more years and the contract is worth $3.5 million.
According to ESPN, Reaves said, “There’s two things I haven’t accomplished: No. 1, haven’t won a Stanley Cup; No. 2, haven’t won a scoring title. Now, I can win a Stanley Cup this year. I can do it. Can’t win the scoring title. Can’t do it. Just missed it by a couple points. And I also can’t do it next year if I don’t have a contract. So I am happy to announce that I just signed a two-year extension with your Vegas Golden Knights.”
Reaves is a 4th line winger. He may not score but he contributes to the team in other ways. On offense, he can pass the puck to an open skater for them to have scoring chances. On defense, he uses his body to block the puck from being shot on goal. He checks opponents off the puck and poke checks the puck to allow his team to skate the other way with the puck.
The only part of his game he needs to improve is penalties. There are times where he takes risks by hitting an opponent when they don’t have the puck. Those end up with him in the box. Reaves totaled 47 penalty minutes this year. The penalties he takes give the rival teams opportunities to score which could increase the Knight’s deficit on the scoreboard.
The Knights felt his physical play can help them win games in the future. The Knights could always deal him at the trade deadline or let him go once the contract is up. Hopefully, Reaves can continue to tribute to a winning team and who knows, maybe a Stanley Cup in the future.
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