Ryan Reaves isn’t ready to hang them up just yet.
A veteran of 16 seasons in the National Hockey League, the 39-year-old forward is looking to find a home and play for one more year as he closes in on earning his silver stick as a member of the prestigious 1,000 games-played club.
“Playing 1000 games in the NHL is an honour for sure, especially in the role that I play,” the bruising enforcer said in a Thursday morning appearance on TSN1050’s First Up . “I’ve been training all summer already and the body is holding up pretty well. I just think I’ve got one more left in the tank.
“As I came into the league and the older guys have given me advice, one [piece of] advice that has been consistent throughout all of them is play as long as you possibly can, because when it’s over, it’s over. You’re going to miss it, you don’t want to have regrets of ‘I could have played one more year, I shouldn’t have shut it down.’ I don’t want to have that regret. I think one more year would be fun and to say I played at 40 [years old] would also be fun, too.”
While Reaves remains a free agent into the dog days of the NHL off-season, he revealed that his camp has been in contact with while waiting for a deal to materialize.
“We’re talking to a couple of teams but no offers. Interest doesn’t pay the bills and interest doesn’t get you on the ice. I think at my age, I’m going to be one of the last puzzle pieces for some teams and I’m fine with that.
“I’m hoping an offer comes somewhat soon. I’ve got to get the kids into school and on hockey teams and gymnastics and all that, so that’s part of the business.”
The Winnipeg native spent last season with the San Jose Sharks after an off-season trade away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He scored three goals across 50 games played before having his season cut short with a hand injury that saw him play in just four games following the Olympic break.
A reunion with the Sharks appears unlikely after the team added Mason Marchment in free agency and handed out a four-year extension to Zack Ostapchuk, but Reaves looks fondly on his time in San Jose and playing with one of the league’s preeminent rising stars in Macklin Celebrini.
“To be honest, I would say about 90 per cent of my interviews were about Celebrini. I don’t think I talked about myself for more than 10 minutes this year. Honestly, he is such a good kid. He’s so humble, he loves to have a good time. I think you see a lot of these superstars in the league, they’re so serious and it’s hard to get a lot of emotion, or a lot of energy out of them, and he’s the exact opposite.
“He loves to joke around. Him and Will Smith are just two idiots together but they’re so funny. It’s good to see somebody who’s that good at hockey be able to have that much fun while he’s doing it, especially at this age. I think some of these kids, they come in now and they’re just trying to put their stamp on the league and they’re so serious about it. He is just the exact opposite.”
Unlike Celebrini, Reaves came into the league as a fifth-round pick after the St. Louis Blues selected him 156th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Following seven years in St. Louis, Reaves has also spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Maple Leafs, and Sharks over the course of his lengthy career.
Whether or not his final act will see him reunite with one of his former teams, or head to a new organization entirely, remains to be seen.
