Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that’s been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under the organization of Taylor Haase, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we’ll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Ryan Reaves
Number: 75
Position: Forward, Sheriff
Born: January 20, 1987, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Seasons with Penguins: 2017-18
Statistics with Penguins: 58 games played, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points, 84 penalty minutes, 6 fights
Ryan Reaves with a unanimous decision over Austin Watson in his Penguins fight debut. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPSWHY REAVES?
Well ... the real answer to this question is that Reaves is the only player in Penguins' history to skate in No. 75.
My opinion on the big man, though, is that he is talented beyond what his opportunities in Pittsburgh allowed him to show. He wasn't used properly because he isn't a 'system fit' on a system-based team. He wasn't kept around until he had a chance to be the guy they needed.
He provided a service that the Penguins desperately needed and sought out after the assault on Sidney Crosby by Matt Niskanen and Alexander Ovechkin that nearly cost the Penguins their captain and the team's second of the back-to-back Stanley Cup wins.
The Penguins, outside of Reaves himself, were different players throughout the season because of him. Crosby, Jake Guentzel and others spoke of how Reaves allowed them to be themselves ... if not bigger than themselves. Watching Guentzel poke skates and throw 'bows with players before puck drops was proof of No. 75's impact on the smaller bodied guys on the team.
I know that the room will forever be split 50-50 on Reaves, on fighting in general, and there will be people who say we should have skipped this entry. Those people didn't exist when Reaves played one of the all-time great games — yes ... all-time great games ... I've witnessed.
It was October 7, 2017, and I'll never forget it. Reaves was destined to fight in a rematch between the Stanley Cup champions and the runner-up Predators. He wasn't necessarily destined to do it twice — certainly not in this NHL — and score a goal in what I considered his 'debut.'
Putting this piece together on that night, Reaves' night, is one of my absolute favorite things I've done while at DKPittsburghSports.com, and it likely always will be.
Just look through that piece again, and then say he didn't provide a service ... particularly for No. 87.
The most memorable part of that night, though, was the thunderous chanting normally reserved for the likes of Mario, Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray or the "MVP" chant given to Crosby and Evgeni Malkin when at their best.
"Reaves. Reaves. Reaves. Reaves."
It was special, and Ryan Reaves had an impact on Pittsburgh regardless of the length of his tenure.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Reaves signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal to remain with the Golden Knights after being traded by the Penguins to help bring in Derick Brassard. Brassard was a target of Vegas' competition, the Winnipeg Jets, so the Golden Knights took on Reaves' contract as well as a portion of Brassard's to send the center to Pittsburgh and keep him away from the west.
Speaking of his hometown, Reaves scored the goal that sent Vegas to its first Stanley Cup final ... and he did it in Game 5 in Winnipeg.
This clip from Hockey Night in Canada is all you need to see to like the guy:
Reaves' first chance to take on the Penguins will come October 11, 2018 in Pittsburgh, just over a year after he heard PPG Paints Arena chanting his name.
IT WAS SPOKEN
Again, since I don't talk to the guys in the room in most situations, my 'It Was Spoken' section is more second-hand information. My favorite Reaves story is one told to me by a member of the Penguins' staff. It had to do with the way Reaves was treated in Pittsburgh in comparison to in St. Louis when it came to photo day.
As the story was told, Reaves was ecstatic to arrive in Pittsburgh and be asked to pose with his stick for his photographs. His response displayed confusion since he was always asked to pose with his fists up, ready to fight as a member of the Blues.
A more recent quote, one unearthed by our Cody Tucker, backed up a rumored notion that Eddie Johnston was unhappy with the Penguins' decision to move Reaves and believed he protected the guy he was brought in to protect:
Cody: Have you ever seen a superstar get hit the way Crosby has?
EJ: No. We had a kid a year ago, (Ryan Reaves). You’d be surprised, when he was there, not a [expletive] guy would go near him or they would have to pay the penalty. He was tough. You need that. Some of the [expletive] hits he has taken, I blame on the league. When guys do stuff like that, they didn’t give out a 10-game suspension. He’s the best player in the game — the face of the league — and you let guys do stupid [expletive]. You need a tough guy.
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 75:
Ummm ... Joe Greene?
ANY DEBATE?
Reaves was the only guy to wear the number, so there is no debate here. Especially from me.
Tomorrow: Taylor Haase is back with one that she was beyond excited to write.
Yesterday: Jay McKee
