Report: Fans are still divided on Reaves trade

Reaves comments on the heat he's getting from fans.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Fans are still divided on Reaves trade
FanSided NHL

On June 23rd, 2017, the Pittsburgh Penguins traded their 1st round pick (31st overall) and a prospect to the St. Louis Blues for a second round pick and Ryan Reaves.

The trade was much-maligned at the time, and continues to be to this day, with most fans having a difficult time wrapping their heads around his place in the lineup.

Traditionally a rough em up type of player on a bruising team in the west, Reaves had to adjust to the speed of the east, particularly on a team like the Penguins. Something he hasn't quite been able to do - and Mike Sullivan seemingly has recognized that, giving Reaves very minimal ice time, especially as of late.

Fans have expressed their discontent with the trade from the get go, and Reaves had taken notice.

“When the trade happened, there were a lot of people coming at me,” Reaves said to the Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey. “I don’t know why they were coming at me for it.”

True - it's not his fault he got traded, but the fans had to direct their anger somewhere, and both he and Jim Rutherford took the brunt of it.

He's playing an average of 6:56 per game, and as of late has played less than four minutes in a couple of games.

“I bring something else to the table that some of these guys don’t,” Reaves said. “Obviously,  these guys bring a lot of speed and skill to the table. I bring my skill set. I don’t try to play outside of that.”

He might need to start adding a new dimension to his game, because what he brings to the table earns him very little time on ice, and diminishing respect from Penguins fans.

While some love his fights and funny personality off-ice, those traits ultimately don't translate to playoff wins down the line, and a better player could certainly be placed in his spot to improve the team.

Reaves is on pace for 3 goals this season.