[Clipperton] Simmonds on Ryan Reaves: “A little bit of a tough time at the beginning of the season, but I don’t think he got too many opportunities to actually be able to do what he can do. That’s just me knowing how it happened for me. Feel like it’s going much of the same for him.”
Simmonds on Ryan Reaves: "A little bit of a tough time at the beginning of the season, but I don't think he got too many opportunities to actually be able to do what he can do. That's just me knowing how it happened for me. Feel like it's going much of the same for him."
— Joshua Clipperton (@JClipperton_CP) January 26, 2024
by DevOpsMakesMeDrink
27 Comments
Simmonds announced his retirement today which I think was obvious. However this is kind of a spicy quote.
Enforcers gotta be some of the most entitled players who think they can play like ass but still deserve chance after chance to “show what they can do”.
He’s right. A lot of our vet signings make a couple mistakes early and are completely written off, and barely played again. If Perry signed with us he would be in the press box every night. Even the years where he crushed us in the playoffs. No chance Keefe would have played him in our lineup. We are a veteran player graveyard.
I think most players who feel they didn’t get put into the lineup or have a lot of ice time will feel like this.
Truth be told, Reaves greatest asset is his physicality. Fighting and hitting. Outside of the first few games of the season, he wasn’t even doing those things. When opportunity to fight was there, Reaves wasn’t. Mainly because he was almost unplayable. Sucks from a human side but it’s the NHL.
Im not shocked a player who isn’t playing would feel negatively about that.
Dude has had a few good opportunities to show he can be a good enforcer (Boston game comes to mind) and has just completely failed at every opportunity.
Part of the reason I’m annoyed about this is how much people pissed on Simmonds to try and buff up Reaves, so I will just note that Wayne was a good soldier all the way to the end, instead of this.
Simmonds also never complained about how his career wound down and how he didn’t play as often anymore, unlike Reaves. The latter was a poor signing from day one and his knees being jelly and his whining make it look worse.
Where was the beating up of guys he promised? Pfft
I feel for them but if you can’t play, you can’t play.
I’m sure they are a great locker room presence, and have something to offer the culture, but at the end of the day you can only put so many guys on the ice, and every one has to be able to keep up or else you’re intentionally handicapping yourself.
powerful rhetoric, but wayne fails to account for the vision issue reeves was experiencing earlier in the season, resulting in brad marchand and only brad marchand becoming completely invisible to him for some reason
I love Simmonds, but my guy, you had a great career that eventually went off the rails due to mounting injuries and age. Ryan Reaves is not a comparable.
I like Simmonds while he was with the Leafs.
I thought the Leafs gave pretty good treatment while his career was winding down. Him begin in and out of the lineup was consistent with players at the end of their career.
They dressed him when the team played in Philly so he could get one more chance to play there which they didn’t need to do. That was pretty classy.
This is the MO in Toronto. Enforcers are just not effective under this regime. You can’t add one enforcer and expect the team to play tougher.
You need an enforcer in the bottom 6 who can skate. A big mean defenceman or two. Benoit has helped but another is needed. And a top 6 guy who can put up 40-45 points and throw his weight around.
This organization has instead opted for players like McMann or the likes of Aube Kubel / Denis Malgin in the bottom 6. They’ve never understood how to build a contender.
Didn’t get many opportunities my ass. He was played extensively throughout the first third of the season and only looked good in the first two games. He had all kinds of opportunity to impress the coaching staff and the fans. He didn’t. End of story.
Reaves should be quiet and not be a side show. This is Toronto, you can’t go around complaining about ice time. Especially, when you are by far the least skilled player on the team (in the league?)
When Reaves shy’d away after that merchant can opener on lilypad I was done with him being on the team, that’s the only reason we signed you, and you opt not to fight after that? Stay in the press box.
I’ve said from the hop that the issue with Reaves is *how* he was deployed. Reaves can work for us because of a man named Calle Jarnkrok.
Reaves is 4R and Jarnkrok is 3R. Reaves just needs to hit hard, fight when needed, and help play shutdown hockey with Kampf at center. But if it’s a tight game, third period etc, that’s when you sit Reaves and have Jarnkrok do double duty on 3 and 4, which he’ll be able to do because in that same situation Keefe should be prioritizing 1 and 2. Jarnkrok is the “7th forward” anyway, so him doing the 3rd line shift and the occasional 4th if needed will suit him just fine.
Simmonds was good until he broke his wrist. Honestly though Reaves was never half the player of him so this quote is kinda ridiculous. Just waive Reaves and be done with the guy pouting.
Most takes here on this situation are terrible
I thought he did have a couple opportunities to rough someone up!? Simmonds silly.
Lol……
Should have beat up Marchand.
I thought Reaves had somewhat sheltered minutes, and he still was good for a goal against a game, roughly. Didn’t really do much physical, after the first few games, was a defensive liability while also being an offensive black hole.
Kinda hard to want to give *that* more opportunities
Jesus, he was terrible. What do you want them to do?
If he was valuable to the team he’d be playing.
Two and a half more years of this gong show. As always, the Germans have a word for it. Schadenfreude. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
He was signed to add a presence in certain games against certain teams, especially during the playoffs. After Bennett and Gudas et al ran roughshod over us during round 2 last season, his presence certainly was welcome this offseason (Of course, that context is largely forgotten now). But ufortunately his line got scored on every time he stepped on the ice earlier this year, and we’re in a fight to make playoffs and can’t afford to give him participation-medal shifts.
He should get another round of games at some point to see if he can still keep up with the pace of play. If it doesn’t work out we waive him and lose $200k of cap space, oh well.
This comment just further confirms one thing for me
This team has no bite, fight, tenacity or fire because of the coaches and management, not because the players don’t want to do it. It’s almost like they’re being neutered to play SSM CHL hockey. Run and gun, no need to pay attention to any off-puck facets.
He’s had 21 opportunities and he’s just simply not good enough