Why the New York Rangers need Ryan Reaves
All eyes will be on the New York Rangers this summer as they prepare for their biggest offseason in decades.
Armed with the No.2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and around $20 million in cap space, the New York Rangers are primed to dramatically improve their roster and really accelerate this rebuild.
Superstar free agents in the ilk of Artemi Panarin and Erik Karlsson have been linked to the Blueshirts, while either one of Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko will land in the Big Apple carrying the tag as the next chosen one who can lead this franchise to glory.
Plus, with Henrik Lundqvist hoping for a bounceback year, stud defenseman Adam Fox now on the roster and Mika Zibanejad having emerged as an elite two-way center, this team is primed to take the next step and morph into a contender sooner rather than later.
There is no doubt that this offseason will be a busy one for the Rangers with lots of questions to be answered and a plethora of storylines to keep an eye on.
One question that we want to focus on now, however, is whether or not the New York Rangers need to get tougher in 2019-20?
If the answer is yes, then they could do worse than exploring a trade for Vegas Golden Knights bruiser Ryan Reaves.
Now, there will be a fair amount of people who will be shaking their heads in disgust already at the thought of adding an old head to this roster packed to the brim with young, exciting talent.
But, just hear us out for a minute. While the modern-day NHL is built around speed and skill, there is still a place in the game for an old fashioned enforcer who can protect his team-mates as well as giving them a jolt of energy when its needed.
Reaves ticks all of those boxes and, as shown during his time with Vegas, he can also chip in with offensive production too.
This suggestion will no doubt split opinion but we’ve taken a look at the pros and cons to any potential trade for Ryan Reaves…
Pros for trading for Ryan Reaves
First, let’s start with the obvious. Ryan Reaves is one tough human being. He’s like a human battering ram and tank rolled into one.
Boasting a hulking frame of 6’1″ and weighing in at 225 lbs, Reaves hits like an absolute train and he’s hardly a stranger to dropping the gloves.
And, not only does he love a tilt but he thrives pummelling his opponents in order to give his team an edge, regularly throwing bombs with unparalleled success against other heavyweights.
The Rangers have had their fair share of tough guys in recent years, most recently Cody McLeod, but Reaves is arguably the toughest and hardest role player in the NHL today.
He’s also not a one-trick pony. Yes, he would slot in on the fourth-line and be matched up against other teams’ top lines in order to disrupt their rhythm and generally just be a nuisance.
However, Reaves can produce offensively too and at an impressive clip for a bottom-six forward who plays restricted minutes.
Look at his body of work for the Golden Knights in 2018-19. He achieved career-highs in goals (9), assists (11) and points (20).
He also had two game-winning goals as he was often trusted to play in key situations for Vegas when the game was up for grabs.
That kind of production from a fourth-liner of Reaves’ caliber would be a welcome boost to any team who craves and needs secondary scoring.
Another factor to consider is Reaves’ bubbly personality. He’s larger than life and he has a presence that would make a big impact in the locker room and help to create and manufacture chemistry.
He’s also a veteran of 578 regular season games in the NHL, in addition to 53 playoff contests, and would add invaluable experience to a team that was among one of the youngest in the majors in 2018-19 and could well carry a more youthful look next season.
Reaves wouldn’t cost the earth either. He currently carries an average annual cap hit of $2,775,000 through 2020, when he will become an unrestricted free agent.
There is a caveat to that point but we will get to that later. All in all, Reaves would bring a bucketload of grit, tenacity and snarl to the Rangers while also being capable of providing much-needed secondary scoring and leadership.
Cons to trading for Ryan Reaves
Some Rangers fans will argue that the team should stay away from veterans, especially older players who are more known for dropping the gloves than they are for laying on a flurry of goals and assists.
Reaves has built his career on toughness and being able to go toe-to-toe with other bruisers in the NHL, so he won’t bring dazzling skill and high levels of offensive production to the table.
Trading for a slugger like Reaves would also potentially block the path of a young stud from making the majors, although at 32-years-old Reaves would only be a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution.
Another potential caveat is the price. Although at $2,775,000 Reaves wouldn’t be anywhere near the top earner bracket on the Rangers roster, it is steep for a fourth-line enforcer and the money could be spent on upgrading other areas of the roster.
It is also pricey for a player who logged on average 10:52 minutes of ice time per game, which also happened to be a career-high for the right-shot.
Finally, because of the way he plays the game and where he’s at in his career, it is likely that Reaves will start to suffer from some wear and tear sooner rather than later.
That means that the Rangers will get one year of good hockey and peak toughness from Reaves before his current contract expires, but that may be enough.
Conclusion
Personally, the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to discussing a potential trade for Ryan Reaves.
He’s tough as nails and, with the Rangers expected to be even younger in 2019-20, he would be a perfect security blanket to have on the roster in order to protect the franchise’s glut of young studs.
He’d bring a dollop of energy to Broadway with his joker-like personality, which you need in and around the locker room when you go through tough times, which happens a lot if you are a team undergoing a rebuild such as the Blueshirts.
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Plus, the Golden Knights find themselves in salary cap hell and need to shift bodies out of the building so negotiations would be fairly easy to conduct and the Rangers probably wouldn’t have to give up a great deal.
Considering where the Rangers are in their rebuilding process, a player of Ryan Reaves’ stature who can come in and protect his younger teammates and act as an old head to lean on in the locker room would be an invaluable commodity.
It is a trade that could make a lot of sense for the New York Rangers and could be worth exploring if they decide that adding some grit to their roster is an offseason must.