Ryan Reaves spent 16 NHL seasons making life difficult for other people, finishing with 3,225 hits and 94 regular-season fights across 962 games. Asked on Spittin’ Chiclets which opponents made him feel like the sport had moved on without him, he didn’t need long to answer.
The question came up as Reaves reflected on the back end of his career, and the sensation of no longer moving the way he did when he arrived in the league.
Ryan Reaves on McDavid
He got a laugh out of the room by noting he was never especially quick to begin with. Then he named the player he actively hoped to avoid.
“Every time we went to Edmonton and I was in the lineup, I was like, just please do not get me out there against Connor,” Reaves said.
He then explained exactly why, describing a shift against Connor McDavid that seems to have stayed with him.
“I remember we were playing them, and you see him – like, I’m twice his size. And I had him lined up on the blue line. And I went to hit him. And he just like leaned into me with his edges. And I got stuck,” Reaves said. “And I look up and I’m still at the blue line. He’s at the far blue. And I’m trying to backcheck and I can’t. Get me out of here.”
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Reaves wasn’t alone in the conversation. Co-host Paul Bissonnette, himself a former enforcer, jumped in with a McDavid story of his own, one he has openly tied to the end of his NHL career.
The finish to Reaves’ own career had a certain symmetry to it. His final NHL game came on March 21, 2026, against the Philadelphia Flyers, when he was injured in the first period after fighting Garrett Wilson. He took one more shift, then stayed on the bench for the rest of the night. He announced his retirement on Instagram on September 16, writing that “Father Time remains undefeated.”
His departure also closed a small chapter in league history. As TSN noted, Reaves was one of the last players in the NHL to skate without a visor, leaving only three behind him.
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