Injury update on toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves after leaving game with lower-body injury
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves leaves game with lower-body injury
A veteran forward experienced an off-kilter looking injury on Thursday night.
In a game against the Columbus Blue Coats, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves passed on the game in the principal period because of a lower-body injury, and didn’t return.
Close to the midway sign of the principal time frame, Reaves was pursuing a free puck close to the loads up, however appeared to have hit a trench in the ice in the Blue Coats’ zone. The 36-year-old was awkwardly thrown into the boards as a result, and it appeared as though he bent his left ankle into the kickplate. Reaves attempted to skate it off the ice, but he needed help getting down the tunnel.
Reaves is in the first of a three-year contract with the Leafs, with an AAV of $1.35 million. This season, the grinder has played in and out of the lineup, netting just one goal in 20 games. That happened on Nov. 24, when Toronto lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime, 4-3.
Telling the seriousness of Reaves’ injury is too soon.
Throughout his career, Reaves has been injured, missing one game due to a lower-body injury in the 2021-22 season.
Reaves, who hails from Winnipeg, is coming off of his third consecutive season in which he scored 15 points while playing for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers in 2022-23. The Leafs brought him in to add toughness and veteran experience to a team that had been lacking in both in recent seasons.
Toronto (15-6-5) is attempting to track down a decent remaining in the extreme Atlantic Division. With 35 points, they are currently in third place, just one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and five points behind the Boston Bruins for first place.
They will next have the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
