Sheldon Keefe sends a clear message to Ryan Reaves.

Sheldon Keefe is sending a clear message to Ryan Reaves.

The Maple Leafs enforcer was attacked this week, and now his coach is here.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ryan Reaves has taken a lot of criticism this week, and now it seems his coach isn’t happy with the effort he’s seen from Reaves through the first 14 games of the regular season either.

National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed Saturday that Keefe sat Reaves on Saturday, and Keefe himself confirmed the news. That means Reaves will sit out at least Saturday and the game against the Vancouver Canucks, and possibly more depending on how Keefe feels about the situation. Reaves has been largely ineffective for the Leafs this season outside of physical play, as he hasn’t recorded a single point on the season and is currently a plus-minus of -11 in just 12 games.
Reaves tonight’s trade is also a condemnation of how poorly he has played in the 12 games since Keefe decided to replace him with 27-year-old forward Bobby McMann. McMann has just 10 NHL games under his belt and at 27 has spent the majority of his professional hockey career in the American Hockey League. McMann has 2 goals and 1 assist for a total of three points this season for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

McMann showed fire earlier this week defending one of his Toronto Marlies teammates, and that may have been Keefes motivation. insert McMann into the lineup tonight with veteran defenseman Reaves.