Winnipegger Reaves fitting in with new club

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This article was published 25/10/2017 (2879 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PITTSBURGH — His numbers may be modest, but Ryan Reaves has made a substantial impression with his teammates during his first three weeks as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I don’t think he’s changed the vibe, I just think he’s come in and been himself,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said following Wednesday’s practice at PPG Paints Arena. “He’s been great to have around. He brings a lot of energy every day and his toughness speaks for itself.”

The Penguins, who acquired the 30-year-old Winnipegger in an off-season trade with the St. Louis Blues, wanted to get bigger and braver with the deal. In 10 games, Reaves has one goal, one assist and 45 penalty minutes while averaging 6:46 in ice time per game. He had an assist, a fight and was on the ice for 7:01 while skating on Pittsburgh’s fourth line in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers.

Reaves’ presence provides a deterrent that is impossible to quantify.

“In the back of your head, you know he’s a guy who can keep things in check,” Crosby said.

“There’s not that many guys that have that capability. He creates a lot on the forecheck. He gets some big hits and provides a lot of energy on the ice and off the ice.”

The gregarious, fun-loving Reaves appears to be meshing well with his new teammates.

“It was different coming in the first couple of weeks, but I think the transition’s been a lot easier than I kinda expected,” Reaves said.

“Everyone’s been really nice. It’s a good group of guys and easy to get along with.”

Reaves is also gaining acceptance from fans for his hard-hitting style.

“I think after the trade I had to win over quite a few fans in this city,” he said. “I got a couple hate tweets from a few of them. (The Nashville game) was fun. It was obviously nice hearing my name being chanted. It was a really fun game. When you go to a new team, you want to be on the fans’ side. I’m chipping away at it right now.”

General manager Jim Rutherford, who gave up prospect Oskar Sundqvist and swapped the 31st pick for the 51st pick in the 2017 draft to get Reaves, is pleased with the deal.

“He’s a great teammate, he’s a wonderful guy,” Rutherford said. “And when he gets on the ice, for a guy that plays that type of game, he can skate and he can get in on the forecheck and he’s an important part of our team… And of course, the other part of that is he makes all his teammates a lot more comfortable. As he said when he got traded here, ‘You can tell the rest of the team, they can sleep easier at night.’”

Facing the champs

 

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice knows just how good the Penguins can be.

“We always talk about these great offensive teams — Pittsburgh, Chicago,” said Maurice, whose Jets face the Penguins tonight. “But really what they’re good at is they defend very, very hard and they compete on the puck. Because of their talent, they can be a little patient in a game. They don’t need a whole lot of chances.

“That confidence they have in their offensive game allows them to compete and play smart.”

Crosby sets the pace for his teammates in the offensive and defensive zones.

“The one thing we just love about Sid is his two-way game,” Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said.

“I thought his defensive play (Tuesday against the Oilers) was on display. He made some real good plays. He’s stiff in the battle zones. He works down low in our end. He’s a complete player and sometimes I think that gets overlooked. For me, Sid could be in the conversation for the Selke (Trophy) if he wanted to be that. That’s one thing we love about him. He plays at both ends of the rink. And when he goes head-to-head with a guy like (Oilers captain Connor) McDavid… I think it brings out the best in him at both ends.”

What to expect

 

Ryan Reaves remembers the Blues-Jets battles well.

“Every time we played Winnipeg in St. Louis, I would say those are some of the biggest wars we had all year,” Reaves said. “They’re kinda built like St. Louis in that they were fast but played a really physical game. And they try to wear you down like that… games were always physical and low scoring.”

Sullivan expects some of both from tonight’s visitors.

“There’s still a handful of teams in the league that play a heavy game and I think Winnipeg has a little bit of a hybrid style,” Sullivan said. “They can skate as well. They’re a team that has good size, that has a physical element to their game, but certainly, they can skate as well. They’re a real good hockey team.”

— with files from Mike McIntyre

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14