Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ryan Reaves officially called it a career on Wednesday.
Reaves, who played for the Penguins during the 2017-18 season and compiled four goals and eight points in 58 games, announced his retirement via his official Instagram account. He played 16 NHL seasons and was one of the league's top enforcers.
"I never thought this day would come. I thought I was invincible. I thought I could play forever, but like all good things, it must come to an end. Today, I retire from the sport I’ve loved since I was 5 years old," Reaves wrote on Instagram. "It was a hell of a ride. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this journey. There are too many to single out, so you’ll hear from me at some point."
"You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today."
In addition to his time with the Penguins, he played for the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and San Jose Sharks.
Reaves compiled 66 goals and 140 points in 962 NHL games.
The announcement on Wedesday, Sept. 17, comes amid Hellebuyck's request to be traded. He asked earlier in the offseason and then went public with the request on Aug. 27.
"Several months ago, I privately requested a trade," Hellebuyck said in a statement released through his agent in August. "I have tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully while giving the organization time to explore its options. With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request. My position has not changed, and I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.
"I appreciate everything Winnipeg Jets fans have meant to me throughout my career and hope that a resolution can be reached soon."
The Jets said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will address the matter on Thursday.
Hellebuyck signed a seven-year extension averaging $8.5 million a year in July 2023 and is entering the third year of that deal.
In addition to the gold medal, Hellebuyck was voted the Hart Trophy winner in the 2024-25 season. He has won three Vezina Trophies, including back-to-back in 2024 and 2025.
He won't take part in early on-ice sessions, though, because he suffered an upper-body injury during offseason training, interim GM Shawn Horcoff said.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Winnipeg Jets suspended goaltender Connor Hellebuyck on Wednesday night for failing to report to training camp.
The team said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff would address the media Thursday morning. It did not specify the length of the suspension for the U.S. Olympic star.
Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and 2025 Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, publicly requested a trade from the team on Aug. 27.
In a statement posted on X by his agent, Ray Petkau, Hellebuyck said he had privately requested a trade “several months ago” and that he gave the organization time to address it “queitly and respectfully.”
“Winnipeg has been my home for my entire NHL career, and I will always be grateful for my time there,” Hellebuyck said. “I have never forgotten June 23, 2012. That’s the day Winnipeg took a chance on a goalie playing in Odessa, Texas. I gave everything I had from that moment to prove that the Jets made the right decision.”
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had said before June’s NHL draft that he was listening to offers for Hellebuyck. At the time, he did not confirm that the goaltender had asked to be traded.
The leaves are changing, there’s a nip to the air, and pumpkin spiced lattes are out in full force. All those things, and a back-to-school Target special, signal that hockey is just a stone’s throw away.
Admittedly, no temperature or aesthetic changes are happening in Las Vegas– palm trees’ leaves don’t change colors, and it’s still 93℉ and sunny. Nevertheless, the start of the 2026-27 season is right around the corner, and after a long summer, the Vegas Golden Knights are preparing to head to Training Camp.
Of course, the Golden Knights had a shorter summer than most, as their 2025-26 season didn’t end until June 14th, when they had to stand and watch as the Carolina Hurricanes were awarded the Stanley Cup. I imagine that, as the runners-up, the Golden Knights’ offseason felt impossibly long.
But finally, at long last, it’s Training Camp Eve, and the Golden Knights are just one sleep away from their revenge tour. Tomorrow, they’ll embark on their quest for redemption. Tomorrow, they’ll be given the opportunity to attempt to right all their wrongs, to write themselves a new story in which they emerge victorious.
Tomorrow, all the questions will be answered. But for tonight, here are the three biggest questions heading into training camp.
1. Who Will Become the Golden Knights’ New Goalscorer?
Turnover is inevitable in hockey, but the Golden Knights did their best to keep the band together. As it stands, their roster is almost identical to the one that fell just two wins short of the Stanley Cup.
Almost identical. Almost.
When the Golden Knights take the ice on September 29th, they’ll do so without a former mainstay in their lineup: Pavel Dorofeyev. General Manager Kelly McCrimmon is never afraid to make difficult decisions, and he hammered that point home when he traded Dorofeyev, a sharpshooter who led the team in goals for the past two years, to the New York Rangers at the NHL Entry Draft. This year, they’ll have to look elsewhere for a late tying goal or game-winner.
But where will they look? The Golden Knights are a team that does things by committee and takes pride in their depth scoring, but 35-goalscorers don’t just grow on trees. They’ll likely need one of their two superstars to step up and prioritize shooting the puck. They’ll also probably need a healthy season from William Karlsson and a bounce-back season from Tomáš Hertl.
2. Can the Golden Knights Replicate their Elite Power Play?
Looking back, the Golden Knights’ 2025-26 season was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde– it was the tale of two seasons.
They entered the playoffs on shaky ground, but most of their regular season failures were overshadowed by their postseason success. For three rounds, the Golden Knights would not be denied. They cut through the Utah Mammoth, shot down the Anaheim Ducks, and militaristically dismantled the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
Essentially, the Golden Knights’ postseason was nothing like their regular season. In the regular season, they were a fragile team. They rarely scored first and, as a result, spent a concerning amount of time trailing in games. Their defensive woes resulted in an inability to keep the puck out of the net and an occasionally devastating struggle to stop the bleeding.
Honestly, for most of the season, the Golden Knights had just one saving grace: an utterly lethal power play. And, boy, was it ever magnificent. That power play helped Mark Stone enjoy a career year at age 34. The Golden Knights trotted out a five-forward unit with Mark Stone at the goal line, Jack Eichel at the half wall, Hertl in the bumper, Pavel Dorofeyev as the one-time option, and Mitch Marner as the quarterback.
Now, Pavel Dorofeyev is gone, and the Golden Knights will need to find a way to replace his team-leading 20 power-play goals.
3. Which Goaltender Will Take Control of the Net?
While some teams are desperately searching for a starting goaltender, the Golden Knights have the opposite problem. Both netminders will be looking for redemption, but both Carter Hart and Adin Hill are more than capable of shouldering a starter’s load.
Carter Hart struggled during the regular season, but thrived under latecomer head coach John Tortorella and looked unbeatable until the Stanley Cup Final. Then, he came back down to earth, setting records for all the wrong reasons while showing signs of fatigue. Hart is one of the biggest reasons that the Golden Knights swept the Avalanche, and he’ll look to regain that form and prove to new head coach Ryan Craig that he’s the right man for the starting job.
Adin Hill, who backstopped the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023, is coming off of a season he’d like to forget. He fell victim to the injury bug, started just 27 games, and posted a career-worst .871 average save percentage. He lost the net to Hart when Tortorella took over for Bruce Cassidy, but with a new head coach behind the bench, Hill has the chance to reestablish himself as the starter.
A new CBA kicks in this year, and the regular season grows from 82 to 84 regular games. Both netminders will get their chance to make their case for the starting role, and only time will tell who will win the job.
The NHL enforcer announced Wednesday that he was retiring from hockey in a lengthy post on social media.
“Today, I retire from the sport I’ve loved since I was 5 years old,” he wrote on Instagram. “It was a hell of a ride. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this journey. There are too many to single out, so you’ll hear from me at some point.
“I may not be on the ice anymore, but I know I will always be close to hockey in one way or another. You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today. Mic drop, gloves drop. Reavo out.”
Reaves, who turns 40 in January, played 16 seasons in the league with stints on the Wild, Blues, Penguins, Golden Knights, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and most recently, the Sharks.
Known more for his fights than his play, Reaves carved out a career as one of the NHL’s most feared enforcers.
Last October, Reaves got into an on-ice fight with Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe, who was left with a broken thumb.
After coming over in a trade with the Golden Knights in 2021, Reaves quickly became a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden.
San Jose Sharks right wing Ryan Reaves celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez
His first fight as a Ranger came that November, when Canadiens rookie Michael Pezzetta challenged him at the Garden. Reaves pummeled Pezzetta in the one-sided bout before earning a standing ovation from the home crowd.
He played 81 games with the Blueshirts, recording five goals and 13 points, and appeared in 18 playoff games during their run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022.
New York Rangers right wing Ryan Reaves (75) skates the ice in the first period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Saturday, June 4, 2022, in New York. AP
The Rangers traded him to Minnesota that November.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound winger finished with 66 goals and 140 points in 962 regular-season games, while piling up more than 1,100 penalty minutes.
He finished his career with three goals in 50 games for San Jose last season.
The San Jose Sharks's 2026 Training Camp is set to start on Thursday, so let's take a look at each individual player and discuss a question surrounding each of them heading into the 2026-27 season.
Forwards:
Alex Barre-Boulet: Can he bring elite scoring to the Barracuda, or potentially even steal an NHL roster spot?
Filip Bystedt: Is it finally his time to break into the NHL?
Ethan Cardwell: Has he been passed on the depth chart by too many players to ever have a chance at cracking the NHL roster?
Macklin Celebrini: How many of his own franchise records can Celebrini break this year?
Igor Chernyshov: It's clear he belongs in the NHL at this stage, so where does he fit and whose job does he take?
Ty Dellandrea: Can he hold off some young guns pushing for a roster spot or will be be buried in the AHL?
Tye Felhaber: Can Felhaber get back to his AHL scoring pace from the 2024-25 season?
Andre Gasseau: Historically, Rookie Faceoff standouts tend to regress in training camp against stiffer competition. Can Gasseau be the exception?
Adam Gaudette: Does Gaudette's edge on goal-scoring save him from being the 13th forward or does he sit on most nights?
Patrick Giles: What does Giles need to do to move from a fringe player to legitimately competing for an NHL job?
Barclay Goodrow: If enough young players outperform Goodrow in training camp, how far can his leadership and off-ice qualities go toward keeping him in the lineup?
Collin Graf: Considering Stenberg seems set for the first line in an ideal scenario and both Marchment and Chernyshov are expected to get top-six roles which line makes sense for Graf?
Jake Gustafson: How much can Gustafson learn in his first NHL training camp and what effects does it have on his WHL performance this season?
Donavan Houle: Can Houle establish himself as a full-time AHL option or is the ECHL in his future once again?
Jimmy Huntington: Can Huntington's experience and leadership help him earn a few depth call-ups this season?
Brett Leason: After a season spent mostly in the AHL, can Leason return to his previous form and force himself into an NHL role once again?
Cam Lund: While it's clear he's a talented player, can Cam Lund stay healthy enough to earn another chance in the NHL at some point this season?
Mason Marchment: Many on social media have stated that they feel signing Marchment was unnecessary given the Sharks' logjam of forwards, can he prove them wrong?
Michael Misa: The Sharks are banking on Misa being their second-line center of the future, but after a relatively disappointing Rookie Faceoff, can he take that role right out of the gate?
Quentin Musty: Does Musty's new style of play, which embraces the grit required to play a bottom-six role, help him break into the NHL?
Zack Ostapchuk: Even though his new contract carries a relatively low cap hit, signing any bottom-six player with just over 100 games of NHL experience for four years is risky. Can Ostapchuk show that he's worth that commitment?
Kiefer Sherwood: Sherwood's goal-scoring dropped off considerably after joining the Sharks, can he return to the same pace he had with the Vancouver Canucks last season?
Will Smith: Is this the season that Smith joins Macklin Celebrini in superstardom and massive contracts?
Ivar Stenberg: How quickly can he adapt to the North American style of play and do the Sharks follow the same development plan they've used with Smith and Misa?
Tyler Toffoli: Is age starting to catch up with Toffoli or was last season just an outlier?
Anthony Vincent: Can Vincent maintain his role with the Barracuda despite the new additions?
Alexander Wennberg: How long can Wennberg hold off Misa and remain the Sharks' 2C?
Carson Wetsch: Can Wetsch use his momentum from the Rookie Faceoff to snatch away a bottom-six role at the NHL level in his first professional season?
Defensemen:
Nolan Allan: Allan hasn't played in the NHL since the 2024-25 season when he appeared in 43 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, can he take the final defensive job?
Luca Cagnoni: Are the Sharks confident enough in Cagnoni's ability to play with on his off-hand side to give him the final spot on the blue line?
Sam Dickinson: Early last season, Dickinson seemed like he wasn't quite ready for the NHL but had to be there due to a lack of options. Is he truly ready now?
Libor Hajek: North American hockey fans haven't seen Hajek in roughly four years, is he an NHLer or AHLer at this stage?
Mattias Havelid: Havelid missed some time with the Barracuda last season, appearing in just 44 games. Can he stay healthy enough to provide a boost to the blue line?
Alexander Karmanov: Karmanov's size was a huge advantage and helped overcome his skating issues in the Rookie Faceoff, will he look out of place against NHL level talent?
Michael Kesselring: Last season, Kesselring struggled to get anything going in Buffalo. Will he bounce back to being the player we saw in Utah?
Roland McKeown: Can McKeown's leadership help the Barracuda when times get tough?
Darnell Nurse: Will Nurse's change of scenery truly be beneficial?
Mack Oliphant: Will Oliphant be able to secure himself a full-time role with the Barracuda or is he Wichita bound?
Dmitry Orlov: Heading into the final season of his contract, do the Sharks look to prioritize youth and play the veteran in a lower role or do they give Orlov substantial ice time on a nightly basis?
Eric Pohlkamp: Pohlkamp looked solid at the Rookie Faceoff and his shot seems to be a game-changer on the power play, can that elevate him into the NHL right away?
Leo Sahlin-Wallenius: How quickly can Sahlin-Wallenius adapt to North American hockey, especially in a rough league like the AHL?
Phillip Sinn: Coming out of the DEL, not much is truly known about Sinn at this point in time. What does he bring to the table and at what level?
Jacob Trouba: Trouba's contract has earned the Sharks a lot of flak this summer, can he prove that he's worth his cap hit?
Goaltenders:
Yaroslav Askarov: Can Askarov truly step up and prove that he deserves to be the Sharks' long-term starting goaltender or should they start looking toward a future with Ravensbergen?
Eric Comrie: While many feel like Comrie is destined for the AHL, he's been in the NHL for quite a while at this point. Can he use his experience to unseat one of the Sharks' other goalies?
Matt Davis: Can Davis do enough to convince the Sharks to sign him to a two-way deal or will he remain on an AHL contract moving forward?
Brady Knowling: At the Rookie Faceoff, Knowling seemed to be playing well above expectations. Can he keep the momentum rolling?
Alex Nedeljkovic: Can Nedeljkovic unseat Askarov as the starting netminder, will he remain the backup, or will he be passed by Comrie?
While quite a bit of the Sharks' roster already seems set, there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered and only time will reveal the true answer.
]The Buffalo Sabres’ 2025-26 season was a huge relief to long-suffering Sabres fans, as they finished first in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division. They also beat the Boston Bruins in their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2. Things are definitely looking up for this Sabres squad.
Meanwhile, here at TheHockeyNews.com, we're analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in an online series titled “Know Your Enemy”. For the second straight season, we’re breaking down how Buffalo played against each East team, as well as how they’re likely to fare against them in 2026-27. And in this particular file, we’re focused on the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils made some notable changes – first and foremost, in net. But what can we expect from New Jersey this year?.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
NEW DEVILS PLAYERS: Sunny Mehta (GM), David Rittich (G), Anthony Mantha (LW), Evan Rodrigues (RW), Jesper Boqvist (LW), Luke Evangelista (RW)
2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 2-1-0, Devils 1-2-0
2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: December 26, at Buffalo; January 12 at Buffalo; February 20 at New Jersey
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Devils dealt veteran Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers, and to replace him, New Jersey signed journeyman Rittich, who posted a save percentage of .894 or worse in each of the past two seasons. That shouldn’t cause Devils fans to be overly optimistic about their chances of making the playoffs this year – unless, say, new GM Mehta pulls off a blockbuster trade for Winnipeg Jets superstar netminder Connor Hellebuyck. If that happens, all bets are off for the ceiling for New Jersey.
However, as it stands, the Devils are a very beatable group. The Hughes Bros., Luke and Jack Hughes, may be waiting on brother Quinn Hughes if he leaves the Minnesota Wild. And again, if that’s the caliber of player Mehta can bring in, suddenly New Jersey rockets near or at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
The Sabres will see the Devils three times in less than two months, beginning on Boxing Day and ending 55 days later. But two of the games against New Jersey will take place in Buffalo, and the Sabres need to take advantage of that. Buffalo’s home record last season was a solid 26-10-5, and that means there’s no excuse for them not to make the most of their games at KeyBank Center. And that goes double against the Devils, who were a thoroughly-mediocre 21-20-0 on the road.
New Jersey is clearly still a work-in-progress, so the Sabres can’t take their foot off the gas simply because the Devils aren’t particularly imposing at the moment. If Buffalo is to repeat as Atlantic regular-season champs, they have to make the most of games against teams they ought to beat – and right now, the Devils are most-definitely a team they ought to beat this season.
Giving up valuable standings points to non-elite teams will only hurt the Sabres, and coach Lindy Ruff must ensure his team are stone-cold killers against weaker opponents.
On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers will kick off their on-ice portion of their 2026 training camp, and with a shorter overall camp and preseason this year, the roster battles and jostling for ice time will be as fierce as ever.
But, before anywhere, we have to establish the present to give context to the future. After all, the NHL roster is already looking considerably different than it did this time last year.
Rookies Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey are all primed to stick out of the gate this year, while players like Noah Juulsen, Egor Zamula, Sam Ersson, Garnet Hathaway, Nick Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Bobby Brink are all out of the picture entirely.
Until we see how things stack up, it'll be nearly impossible to predict how the Flyers will line up and who will play with who, which is why an assessment of the overall depth chart will be our most useful tool in the meantime.
As a reminder, these aren't line combinations or predictions, but more of a representation of a given player's role and usage in the lineup.
Forwards
Tyson Foerster - Trevor Zegras - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Christian Dvorak - Matvei Michkov
Denver Barkey - Noah Cates - Porter Martone
Nikita Grebenkin (inj.) - Sean Couturier - Noel Acciari
Alex Bump - Jett Luchanko - Carl Grundstrom
Zach Aston-Reese - Jacob Gaucher - Danila Klimovich
Nolan Foote - Jack Studnicka - Cole Knuble
Noah Powell - Riley Thompson - Devin Kaplan
Rationale
The placements of players like Matvei Michkov, Martone, Barkey, and Bump is going to depend largely on how head coach Rick Tocchet wants to deploy them.
If Michkov is really in much better shape than he was this time last year, he should be squarely ahead of the less experienced Martone.
Barkey and Nikita Grebenkin, who is currently dealing with a setback, have skills that lend themselves better to a bottom-six role than what Bump has, though I expect all three to make the NHL roster.
The Flyers only want Jett Luchanko in the lineup if he's going to play and one of the 12 best forwards on the team, but in the event of injury (particularly long-term), he should be the first man up for them.
Cole Knuble has been impressive throughout rookie camp, but some of the journeymen are going to be ahead of him in the pecking order for now having considerably more NHL and AHL experience.
With their penalty-killing skills, I expect Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny to be the two wingers deployed the most, with Trevor Zegras reprising his role as the go-to guy for this Flyers team.
Defense
Jamie Drysdale is poised to take another big step forward in 2026-27. (Photo: Robert Edwards, Imagn Images)
Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale
Cam York - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - David Jiricek
Simon Benoit - Oliver Bonk
Ty Murchison - Helge Grans
Hunter McDonald - Cam Dineen
Jackson Edward - Spencer Gill
Rationale
When it comes down to it, defense should be the most polarizing group on the Flyers' roster. Although trade rumors persist and on an expiring contract, Rasmus Ristolainen remains with the Flyers, while Jamie Drysdale continues to trend towards becoming one of the better two-way defenders in the NHL.
Cam York is a fine second-pair guy, and everything after those four is a bit murky.
Veteran Nick Seeler regressed last year and turned 33 years old three months ago, while David Jiricek, still just 22 years old, must prove himself at the NHL level or risk being exposed to waivers for the first time in his young career.
Newcomer Simon Benoit is the likeliest to take up Juulsen's mantle as the meat-and-potatoes No. 7 guy, though Flyers GM Danny Briere left the door open to carrying eight defenders when doing his press conference on Tuesday.
That means opportunity for someone like Ty Murchison, who could very well grow into an option superior to Benoit or Seeler at a lower price, or Oliver Bonk, who has continued to impress after earning an NHL debut and Stanley Cup playoff debut late last season.
For now, Hunter McDonald and Helge Grans remain on the outside looking in, though they could jump up the depth chart quickly with tidy preseason performances. The numbers game just doesn't work in their favor, and especially not for Grans.
I could see McDonald and Murchison replacing Seeler and Benoit by season's end, particularly if the Flyers are sellers at the trade deadline.
You all know how much I like Spencer Gill, but with the considerable amount of time he's missed due to injury since being drafted in 2024, I think the Flyers are committed to letting him spend the full year in the AHL to gain experience and continue developing.
Brent Burns, the 41-year-old defenseman who's entering his 23rd season in the NHL, showed up at the Colorado Avalanche's training camp on Wednesday, Sept. 16, with a different look.
Gone is the long hair and long bushy beard. It's replaced by a trimmed look that makes him appear younger. His gap-toothed look is gone, too.
The facial hair had been legendary and Burns embraced it by wearing a Chewbacca mask at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game skills competition in Nashville.
Here is how Burns looks this week, plus how he looked last season:
The San Jose Sharks are set to kick off their 2026 Training Camp on Thursday, and ahead of the annual event they announced which players have been invited to participate.
There are 28 forwards set to attend this fall's training camp. While the NHL regulars like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Tyler Toffoli will be there, quite a few players expected to play for the San Jose Barracuda will also attend.
Forwards:
Alex Barre-Boulet
Filip Bystedt
Ethan Cardwell
Macklin Celebrini
Igor Chernyshov
Ty Dellandrea
Tye Felhaber
Andre Gasseau
Adam Gaudette
Patrick Giles
Barclay Goodrow
Collin Graf
Jake Gustafson
Donavan Houle
Jimmy Huntington
Brett Leason
Cam Lund
Mason Marchment
Michael Misa
Quentin Musty
Zack Ostapchuk
Kiefer Sherwood
Will Smith
Ivar Stenberg
Tyler Toffoli
Anthony Vincent
Alexander Wennberg
Carson Wetsch
There are also 15 defensemen and five goaltenders set to participate in this year's training camp.
Defensemen:
Nolan Allan
Luca Cagnoni
Sam Dickinson
Libor Hajek
Mattias Havelid
Alexander Karmanov
Michael Kesselring
Roland McKeown
Darnell Nurse
Mack Oliphant
Dmitry Orlov
Eric Pohlkamp
Leo Sahlin-Wallenius
Phillip Sinn
Jacob Trouba
Goaltenders:
Yaroslav Askarov
Eric Comrie
Matt Davis
Brady Knowling
Alex Nedeljkovic
Interestingly, recently signed netminder Ilya Samsonov will not be attending training camp.
San Jose Sharks fans, and players for that matter, have had different opinions on Ryan Reaves during his time in the NHL but it's now been confirmed that his last NHL season was spent with the team in teal. On Wednesday, the veteran winger took to social media to officially announce his retirement.
For many years, Sharks fans hated Reaves due to his time with the Vegas Golden Knights, but it didn't take long for the public opinion to change once he arrived in the Bay Area. His personality off the ice quickly turned him into a fan favorite, even with some of those who weren't happy with his on ice contributions.
Now 39 years old, Reaves started his career with the St. Louis Blues organization after they drafted him 156th overall in 2005. Roughly five years later, he made his NHL debut and remained in St. Louis through the 2016-17 season. He then had stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the aforementioned Golden Knights, the New York Rangers, the Minnesota Wild, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and eventually, the Sharks.
Reaves finishes his career with 962 games played, 66 goals, 74 assists, and 1,137 penalty minutes.
Whether you're a Swedish fan looking to follow the careers of Alexander Wennberg and Ivar Stenberg or a Finnish fan who just really likes Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini, there's a new way for fans in Sweden and Finland to watch the San Jose Sharks, and the NHL in general, this year.
On Wednesday, the NHL and Disney+ announced a five-year agreement that will carry coverage of 160 regular season games, 50 of which are going to be scheduled during Nordic primetime. This agreement comes after the recent launch of ESPN on Disney+ in these markets.
“The NHL’s connection to fans across the Nordic region and internationally has never been stronger, driven by the success of both Nordic-born players in the NHL and our tremendous on-ice product overall," David Proper the Chief Media Officer & Senior Executive Vice President of the NHL stated in a press release. "Disney+ and ESPN are important in expanding our global reach and serving our international fans, providing broad access and unique perspective to NHL games and showcasing the incredible impact Nordic players continue to have on the sport.”
The release also noted that select games will be available on the Star Channel in Finland.
ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Reaves is dropping the gloves for the last time.
Literally.
No, he won't be throwing haymakers anymore, he's literally dropping the gloves on his hockey career for the last time.
A fifth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2005 NHL Draft, the 39-year-old announced his retirement from the NHL on his Instagram page after 16 seasons:
Reaves shared in his post:
Dear Hockey,
It’s hard to put into words what you meant to me. What you mean to me.
I had dreams of being an athlete. Football, hockey—it didn’t matter. I learned at a young age that I just wanted to lay people out. The physical part of sports was what I was always drawn to. I knew that’s what I wanted, but tell 10-year-old Reavo he was going to play in the NHL for 16 seasons? I don’t think he’d believe you.
It’s hard to make this league. It’s even harder to stay in it. For everything I put into my 16 years, the game gave me back x1,000.
But unfortunately, Father Time remains undefeated. Every hit, every fight—it’s taken its final toll on me. I love this sport more than almost anything in this world. It has taken me to places I never thought I’d go and has introduced me to people I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. The fans, the haters, the ups, the downs…I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I never thought this day would come. I thought I was invincible. I thought I could play forever, but like all good things, it must come to an end.
Today, I retire from the sport I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. It was a hell of a ride. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this journey. There are too many to single out, so you’ll hear from me at some point.
I may not be on the ice anymore, but I know I will always be close to hockey in one way or another.
You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today.
Mic drop, gloves drop.
Reavo out.
Reaves spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Blues, which included 419 of his 962 career games that included 27 goals and 24 assists; he was one of the toughest fighters in the game in his time and totaled 1,137 penalty minutes, 695 with the Blues.
Reaves was a fan favorite in St. Louis and was a tough customer when the mitts were dropped and/or there were fisticuffs on the ice; he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with a second-round pick in 2017 for Oskar Sundqvist and a 2017 first-round pick (No. 31, which the Blues used to draft Klim Kostin).
He reached the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2017-18 when Vegas lost to the Washington Capitals.
Among some of fans' favorite Reaves moments included his blowing a kiss to the Dallas Stars bench during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs and his entrance on the ice when he and then-teammate Vladimir Tarasenko would twirl and shoulder bump on their knees as warm-ups began.
Or wearing the hot dog hat given to the player of the game:
Or my personal favorite, when he came out to a press conference trying to look like Blues coach Ken Hitchcock had everyone in the room rolling:
Whatever comes next for Reaves is up to him, but one would think he would make a terrific -- and funny -- studio analyst.
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For years, Ryan Reaves made a living doing something few NHL players ever truly master: making his presence felt before he even touched the puck.
Now, after 962 NHL games, more than 1,100 penalty minutes and a career built around toughness, loyalty and protecting his teammates, Reaves is officially walking away from the game.
The 39-year-old former Vegas Golden Knight announced his retirement Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on a career that carried him through seven NHL organizations and made him one of the league’s most recognizable physical players. Reaves confirmed the decision in a typically fitting Instagram post, writing, “You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today. Mic drop, gloves drop. Reavo out.”
It was a fitting final line for a player who spent much of his career patrolling those very corners.
Reaves entered the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2010 and eventually became one of the sport’s most established enforcers, combining his imposing physical presence with a willingness to do the uncomfortable work that often went unnoticed on the scoresheet. He later suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins before arriving in Vegas during the Golden Knights’ inaugural season.
That is where Reaves became part of one of the most memorable chapters in franchise history.
Vegas acquired Reaves from Pittsburgh during the 2017-18 season, and he quickly found a home in the Golden Knights’ lineup. His first season with the franchise ended with Vegas making an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, and Reaves played a memorable role along the way.
His most recognizable moment came in the Western Conference Final against the Winnipeg Jets, when Reaves scored the series-clinching goal to send the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup Final.
He later scored in Game 1 of the Cup Final against the eventual champion Washington Capitals, adding another memorable moment to a postseason that helped establish the identity of the expansion franchise.
Reaves ultimately spent parts of four seasons in Vegas, appearing in 209 games while recording 18 goals, 24 assists and 42 points to go along with 158 penalty minutes.
But his impact on the Golden Knights was never going to be measured solely by statistics.
He was the player teammates knew would answer the bell. He brought an edge to a team that quickly developed a reputation for playing with emotion and intensity, while his personality made him a recognizable figure both inside and outside the locker room.
Vegas eventually traded Reaves to the New York Rangers in July 2021, ending his four-season run with the organization. General manager Kelly McCrimmon said at the time that Reaves’ “toughness, character and unique skill set” would be missed.
Reaves continued his career with the Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and, most recently, the San Jose Sharks.
For Vegas, however, Reaves will always be remembered as one of the players who helped give the Golden Knights their identity during the franchise’s remarkable first years.
Now the gloves are officially hung up.
Reaves was also among the last active NHL players to play without a visor, leaving only Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators and Zach Bogosian of the Minnesota Wild as the league’s remaining visorless trio.
The right winger played 16 seasons in the NHL, featuring in a total of 962 regular-season games and 113 playoff games.
With the Maple Leafs, he played two seasons, in 2023-24 and 2024-25. He scored a total of four goals and eight points in 84 games with Toronto, which marked two of the three final years of his career.
Of course, Reaves wasn't known for finding his teammates with a pass or putting the puck in the back of the net. He was known for sticking up for teammates and dropping the gloves.
He recorded 77 penalty minutes with the Maple Leafs, for a total of 1,137 penalty minutes in his NHL career. Reaves also had eight regular-season fights with the Blue and White, according to HockeyFights.
"I never thought this day would come. I thought I was invincible. I thought I could play forever, but like all good things, it must come to an end," Reaves wrote in his retirement post.
"Today, I retire from the sport I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. It was a hell of a ride. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout this journey. I may not be on the ice anymore, but I know I will always be close to hockey in one way or another. You can rest easy knowing the corners are a little safer today," he added.
"Mic drop, gloves drop. Reavo out."
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Ryan Reaves on InstagramDear Hockey, It’s hard to put into words what you meant to me. What ...
