Ryan Reaves is ready to return following a five-game suspension, but has continued to add fuel to the fire over his now troubled relationship with Darnell Nurse.
On November 16, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward delivered a violent blow to the head of the Edmonton Oilers defenseman. Reaves never slowed down before hitting his rival who no longer had the puck.
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A few days later, Nurse accused the Leafs bully of deliberately aiming for his head.
“You can argue about his intentions, but there are some guys in the league who try to inflict pain in every shift. I believe his intention was quite clear,” he said at a press briefing.
“The only true thing he said is that I go on the ice to inflict pain. I will not stop and I will continue to do it legally. I’m going to continue to play hard, maybe even harder,” Reaves assured Tuesday after training.
The 37-year-old veteran still apologized after his hit, not having liked seeing Nurse stunned. According to him, a fraction of a second made the difference, and he didn’t like being accused like that.
“When you’re hit like that, you’re entitled to your own opinions and that’s okay. In my more than 900 matches, I have more than a thousand hits to my credit, which says it all. I play physical every game and I’ve been doing it for 15 years. I only had a few suspensions,” Reaves said.
Without saying it explicitly, the suspension was too long for his liking. An experienced player, he however refrained from making certain comments.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I already told the kids that Christmas was canceled. I don’t want to get another fine,” he said with a smirk.
The Maple Leafs will play their next game on Wednesday against the Nashville Predators.
