Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Reaves plays against the Nashville Predators during an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Humphrey
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs added enforcer Ryan Reaves as NHL free agency opened on Saturday.
They also watched two defencemen walk out the door.
Toronto signed Reaves to a three-year contract worth US$4.05 million, the team announced on Saturday, adding some size and physicality to their lineup.
The six-foot-two, 225-pound Reaves produced five goals and 10 assists in 73 games split between the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild last season.
In 828 career games, the 36-year-old forward has 59 goals, 70 assists and 1,023 penalty minutes.
Defenceman Luke Schenn – a trade deadline acquisition last season – signed with the Nashville Predators and blueliner Justin Holl headed to the Detroit Red Wings.
Schenn joins the Predators on a three-year deal worth $10.5 million, while Holl inked a three-year, $10.2-million pact in Detroit.
Toronto sent a third-rounder to the Vancouver Canucks for Schenn, who returned to the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2008 for a brief 26 games.
Schenn played an important shutdown role as the Maple Leafs advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.
Holl had played his entire NHL career with the Maple Leafs.
The 31-year-old had two goals, 16 assists and was Plus-15 over a career-high 80 games last season.
Holl was coming off a three-year, $6-million contract with Toronto.
The right-shot defenceman, a second-round Chicago Blackhawks pick in 2010, played three seasons with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies from 2015 to 2018.
In 2019-20, he became a regular in the Maple Leafs lineup.
Saturday also marked the first day star forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander – both entering the final year of their contracts next season – were eligible to sign extensions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.
