New York Rangers player preview: RW Ryan Reaves

Ryan Reaves will be the final new addition discussed in our player preview series… for now. The New York Rangers could always sign another player or two before the start of the season of course. They have some cap space available, so they may elect to bring in more depth.

Alas, let’s get started.

The Rangers acquired Reaves from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for their 2022 third-round pick late last month. From there, they immediately signed him to a one-year extension with a cap hit of $1.75 million. It matches exactly what he makes this present time. Therefore, the Rangers will now have him for two seasons, barring any changes later down the road.

Over the last four seasons with the Golden Knights, Reaves became a fan favorite because of his tenacious style of play. He is an old-fashioned enforcer, but also was able to contribute a little at times with Vegas. During the 2018-19 season, he scored nine goals and had 20 points in 80 games. He then followed that up with a 15-point campaign in 71 games. However, he only had a goal and five points in 37 games this season.

If Reaves can produce 15 to 20 points for the Rangers in each season, that would be a solid bonus. It is always nice to get some decent depth scoring from the bottom-six and Reaves may have the potential to if he finds his previous touch.

More importantly, Reaves will provide a ton of toughness.

There is no secret that the Rangers were looking to get tougher this off-season. They signed big defensemen Jarred Tinordi and Patrik Nemeth, while also adding gritty forwards Barclay Goodrow and Sammy Blais. Reaves will be the most imposing figure out of the bunch though, as he clawed his way into the NHL because of his toughness alone.

One can tell this is the case by simply looking at his statistics. In 686 games between the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Golden Knights, Reaves has a massive 937 penalty minutes. With that, he has been in a total of 71 fights. He also has had a lot of incidents with Tom Wilson and has handled himself very well. The video below shows that effectively.

With the way last season ended, it does make sense as to why the Rangers would want to bring in a guy like Reaves. His cap hit is not very expensive for what he provides in this specific department. He also had 141 hits in just 37 games this year, so he will never shy away from throwing the body, too. In his two previous seasons with the Golden Knights, he had over 300 in each of them. He easily will change the ongoing narrative that the Rangers are too easy to play against.

Where will Reaves fit into the Rangers’ lineup?

When looking at the team’s forward group, it is rather apparent that Reaves will be playing on the fourth-line at right wing. This is where he has spent the entirety of his career and it suits his style of play well. It also seems likely that his linemates will be fellow newcomer Sammy Blais and center Kevin Rooney. This has all the makings of being a hard line to play against because of how hard these three play.

This will probably be the extent of Reaves’ playing time. He is not the type of forward who is often utilized on the power play or penalty kill, but that’s totally fine. He is in New York to not only make the team a lot tougher, but also protect his teammates. The Rangers have plenty of young players, so having him around for this is definitely beneficial.

At the end of the day, Reaves has the potential to be a good addition for the Rangers. Even if he does not produce a lot of offensively, he gives them their much-needed tough guy. This will make him very entertaining to watch and should allow him to be liked by fans immediately.