Ryan Wilson: More like prey More like prey

Shut up about Reaves already, we get it you don't like him.

I think Reaves objectively had a good game last night. He scored, he was active, and he did things. Good job Reaves. Wanna see more of that so the sting of the trade lessens.

However, Ryan Wilson is 100% right that his presence really didn't do anything besides give Crosby a false sense of security. Crosby literally got slashed in the face by Hartnell while Reaves was on the ice and Reaves could do nothing about it because Hartnell had no interest in amicably dropping the gloves. In a world without the instigator penalty, guys like Hartnell, Dubinsky, and Orpik who play on the edge but don't drop the gloves have free reign.

I'm glad Sid feels safe out there. Maybe it will lead him to playing bolder which is without a doubt a good thing. But as a fan, I am not at all more confident that Sid will stay healthy because we are icing Reaves.

Did Ryan Reaves sleep with this guy's wife or something?

Did anyone say Reaves would prevent Our skilled players from getting hit? Don’t think so. RW is getting way to preachy.

RW, instead of writing about Gretzky not being a great coach you should have wrote about how Wayne felt about Semenko riding shotgun with him.

Reaves is out there with Sid for the same reason that Carcillo used to flank Kane and Toews and guys like Bickell, Brouwer, and even Byfuglien have played with Kane for long stretches.

Its also why Ryan Hartman is playing LW (and playing well to his credit) with Kane and not the much hyped DeBrincat or even Patrick Sharp.

The fact is, NHL coaches, guys who are actually paid to coach, including guys who have won Cups, see the need to occasionally "protect" their top guys in real time with guys like Reaves who drive the analytics jockeys nuts because . . . "even strength Corsi goddammit!!"

Funny, as much as some think hockey has changed over the last 20-25 years, and it has changed some, there's still TREMENDOUS value to a guy who can support the play skating a regular shift with skill players AND "take care of business." Like a young Bob Probert or a Lucic.

Not that Reaves is really that guy, and actually, I think he's a cementhead, but . . .

Pittsburgh got shelled by Chicago… and their coach cancels practice to have a private off-ice get-together.

Ryan Reaves ignited the crowd (hockey is entertainment)… everyone watches for a different reason. It is like NASCAR fans who watch just to see the crashes.

For example, your reason to watch games appear to be fitting on-ice action into STATS. It’s different strokes for different folks.

Players and media select Ryan Reaves first star of the game… you, instead choose to take a shot at him… go figure, eh. At least you got attention away from how bad Olli Maatta is.

Ok I think this has gone a little far, but what more could Reaves have done? He scored, he responded, he fought and beat 2 people, Scott Hartnell is gonna run around like a bellend no matter what, so what does it matter that he couldnt have prevented a stick to Crosby's face? He paid for it, that's about all you can ask for in this league, you dont want Malkin to fight, you want him to look over to this guy and no he has someone to stick up for him, the hits wont stop, but you best believe that end of game shenanigans will be less because of this.

TL;DR: Reaves scored, he fought, the Penguins got to play their game against a team that was gonna be physical against them regardless.

Reaves is out there with Sid for the same reason that Carcillo used to flank Kane and Toews and guys like Bickell, Brouwer, and even Byfuglien have played with Kane for long stretches.

Its also why Ryan Hartman is playing LW (and playing well to his credit) with Kane and not the much hyped DeBrincat or even Patrick Sharp.

The fact is, NHL coaches, guys who are actually paid to coach, including guys who have won Cups, see the need to occasionally "protect" their top guys in real time with guys like Reaves who drive the analytics jockeys nuts because . . . "even strength Corsi goddammit!!"

Funny, as much as some think hockey has changed over the last 20-25 years, and it has changed some, there's still TREMENDOUS value to a guy who can support the play skating a regular shift with skill players AND "take care of business." Like a young Bob Probert or a Lucic.

Not that Reaves is really that guy, and actually, I think he's a cementhead, but . . .
- John Jaeckel

I think this speaks volumes coming from a Hawks fan

I like reeves and think he's a good addition. The big loss in the reeves trade was having a good value pick in the first round while we reached in the second round. Analytically we gave up very little in the pick swap but qualitively we gave up a lot more. I think a 3rd round pick has more quant value than what we gave up. If we could have gotten it done for a 3rd it would be fine deal. But in reality because of the pick selections it feels like we gave up the 20th pick and got a 4th back.

Reaves jersey ordered. Longest 10 days of my life. I will be stalking the UPS guy everyday.

Let's see, players, coaches, and general managers all see a value in a guy like Ryan Reaves. A blogger for one a hockey website doesn't. Now who do we think is more informed and knowledgeable on the subject...

B-b-b-b-but you guys my chart says he sucks!

Winner!!

Haha rw getting roasted for his hatred of reaves. Niche sport lol

B-b-b-b-but you guys my chart says he sucks!


- Murphy_Dump

Can’t wait till GMJR signs him to an extension, so I can watch all the analytics guru’s heads explode!

Reaves is out there with Sid for the same reason that Carcillo used to flank Kane and Toews and guys like Bickell, Brouwer, and even Byfuglien have played with Kane for long stretches.

Its also why Ryan Hartman is playing LW (and playing well to his credit) with Kane and not the much hyped DeBrincat or even Patrick Sharp.

The fact is, NHL coaches, guys who are actually paid to coach, including guys who have won Cups, see the need to occasionally "protect" their top guys in real time with guys like Reaves who drive the analytics jockeys nuts because . . . "even strength Corsi goddammit!!"

Funny, as much as some think hockey has changed over the last 20-25 years, and it has changed some, there's still TREMENDOUS value to a guy who can support the play skating a regular shift with skill players AND "take care of business." Like a young Bob Probert or a Lucic.

Not that Reaves is really that guy, and actually, I think he's a cementhead, but . . .
- John Jaeckel

No, you dummy. It drives people nuts because it doesn't stop anything. Sid still got slashed, got butt ended, Sid/Geno/Guentzel all got trucked, there was no protection last night, where was he when Sid skated over to the bench and got popped in the face a couple of times? Dude doesn't protect anything.

Ryan, I agree that most players who are considered deterrents are a waste of roster space, I just don't feel like Reeves is one of those players. He wasn't running around chasing hits. He was finishing solid checks and making them count. He also drew a penalty because he wouldn't fight a player when the player wanted him to.

To me, atleast, Reeves is a different kind of player. Fe can skate, he has good hands, he goes after the guys that deserve it, his hits are solid, and he can get under the other teams skin. I believe that he's a good fit for this roster once everyone else finds their place.

Honest question: How's Daley looking?
- MattStrat

Surprisingly pretty good especially considering he has to play with that bum DeKeyser. Daley looked awful in pre season so he has been a bit of a surprise the first 2 games.

Reaves jersey ordered. Longest 10 days of my life. I will be stalking the UPS guy everyday.
- Reverend Killtaker

This is sad.

Reaves is out there with Sid for the same reason that Carcillo used to flank Kane and Toews and guys like Bickell, Brouwer, and even Byfuglien have played with Kane for long stretches.

Its also why Ryan Hartman is playing LW (and playing well to his credit) with Kane and not the much hyped DeBrincat or even Patrick Sharp.

The fact is, NHL coaches, guys who are actually paid to coach, including guys who have won Cups, see the need to occasionally "protect" their top guys in real time with guys like Reaves who drive the analytics jockeys nuts because . . . "even strength Corsi goddammit!!"

Funny, as much as some think hockey has changed over the last 20-25 years, and it has changed some, there's still TREMENDOUS value to a guy who can support the play skating a regular shift with skill players AND "take care of business." Like a young Bob Probert or a Lucic.

Not that Reaves is really that guy, and actually, I think he's a cementhead, but . . .
- John Jaeckel

Good thing you brought up Lucic. Remember when he was able to protect Savard from getting headshotted by Cooke?

Correct me if I watched a different game but didn't Reaves force a turnover on a fore check that Kuhnhackl got a great scoring chance. Didn't Reaves draw a penalty from McCloud that resulted in 17 minutes and effectively got him thrown out of the game. I didn't see Hartnell spearing and slew footing anyone last night; something that he has done with regularity in prior games. Yes some guys got hit with hard checks. But most were legal and the Pens did hit back. I can recall Scott Wilson with a solid check. There are going to be hard hits at this level, until you ban checking that is going to happen.

No, you dummy. It drives people nuts because it doesn't stop anything. Sid still got slashed, got butt ended, Sid/Geno/Guentzel all got trucked, there was no protection last night, where was he when Sid skated over to the bench and got popped in the face a couple of times? Dude doesn't protect anything.
- j.boyd919

So all the coaches are dummies, too, I guess. Because they keep doing it and the rationale remains the same.

Does it always work? No. But please enlighten me with how you quantify when it does work—because that's when there's no nonsense happening—right.

Hey guys. .so today the pens are still! the Champs and the sky's not falling. .lol that Chicago game was the perfect storm..so to speak to have ONE of those games! It's done and filed in the shat drawer, the pens came out and played with the way we're use to seeing! And ryan. .jeez you can even troll your own players? Lol ..reaver is trying to make an impression! Players,coach,management and especially fans! was in front of the crowd basically for the first time,and possibly made a few mistakes? But the coach will settle him down and he should be fine and able to contribute! We have (leafs)fans the same conversation about Martin, we would rather have four lines of scoring or skill playing, but unfortunately you still have guys running around and the cheap shots are happening,reaver should settle down. .and if not he'll be watching from the bench or the press box! Best of luck going forward!