Reaves can’t solve big issue
wasn’t thinking, “Oh no, what will Reaves do to me or Toews!” when he wrecked Backes.
These are hockey players. They skate with broken limbs. They don’t worry about somebody picking a fight.
Reaves’ presence, in the end, did nothing to prevent the Blues from becoming one of the NHL’s most-targeted teams over the past four years. They were the victims of more league-punished hits than all but one club over that span, as chronicled by Adam Gretz of nbcsports.com.
Even little Bobby Farnham ran around dinging the Blues.
So make no mistake: Reaves’ presence will do nothing — nothing — to stop or even curb the gratuitous violence inflicted on Sidney Crosby & Co., no matter what any former NHL player might tell you. But you already knew that, right?
I mean, you have the evidence. Eric Godard, Georges Laraque, Steve MacIntyre, Deryk Engelland, Tom Sestito, Andre Roy, Ryan Vanden-Bussche, Arron Asham, Gary Roberts, Steve Downie, Matt Cooke and others who could best be described as enforcers, mad men or both have played here since Crosby arrived. Did anything change? Only the NHL can protect its stars. Only the league can act as a deterrent — and it has never embraced that responsibility, preferring “oldtime hockey” to actual hockey. It caters more to stiffs than stars.
You might point out that Rupp and Seabrook drew seven games of suspensions (four for Rupp) for the aforementioned hits. I would point out that seven games is laughable and that both should have been banished for the season (or postseason) if the league wanted to send a meaningful message.
Let the record show that Oshie absorbed another illegal head shot early the next season, courtesy of Minnesota’s Marco Scandella.
So no, “Sheriff Reaves” isn’t going to keep the criminals off Crosby Ave. Besides, Crosby has played in 312 of a possible 328 games over the past four seasons and seems to be doing pretty well for himself. The Penguins didn’t need a policeman. They wanted one. And good for them. I kind of like the trade.
It was symbolic as much as anything. A power move. Already standing atop hockey’s highest mountain, the Penguins basically raised a finger (and I don’t mean the “No. 1” sign) at commissioner Gary Bettman, who apparently never learned during his NBA apprenticeship that one golden rule for successful sports leagues reads like this: “Protect Your Biggest Assets.”
The Penguins now can make the following pronouncement to the rest of the league: “Hello down there. We just got the baddest winger on the planet. Come and get us!”
Crosby, even if he isn’t safer, will feel safer and likes having tough guys around. That is worth something. So is the concept of revenge. Reaves isn’t going to dissuade anyone, but he will exact retribution, and there is nothing wrong with that from time to time. Revenge satisfies fans and players alike. Reaves just has to be careful he doesn’t become Downie, who spent his year here taking asinine penalties in the name of “protecting” teammates.
Finally, the point that has gone largely overlooked: Reaves actually can play hockey. He worked on his skating and overall approach before last season and, by all accounts, was much improved at age 30. At 6 feet 1, 225 pounds, he was part of an effective fourth line with Kyle Brodziak and Scottie Upshall.
Reaves will be the hardest-hitting No. 75 in this town since Mean Joe Greene. Fans will love him. He also scored seven goals, or two fewer than Chris Kunitz. There’s a reason the Blues protected him in the expansion draft before dealing him for a first-round draft pick and a prospect. He has value, and everybody knows it.
This isn’t Eric Godard we’re talking about. Watch the goal Reaves scored at PPG Paints Arena in January, when he outraced Justin Schultz to a loose puck and beat Matt Murray. That’s not to say he will remind anyone of Mike Bossy. He might not even remind anyone of Mike Rupp. But he will give you eight or nine hard minutes, and what did the Penguins really lose?
They obviously figured Reaves as a fourth-line winger beats Oskar Sundqvist as a fourth-line center (they clearly had no plans for Sundqvist on the third line). They moved down 20 spots in a middling draft. So what?
Reaves absolutely brings something in the way of playing the game. What he doesn’t bring, despite his best efforts, is the power to discourage the Brandon Dubinskys of the world from abusing Penguins stars. Only the NHL can do that. And it won’t.