Craig Berube shows love to Ryan Reaves ahead of veteran’s return to Toronto

Thursday night marks the return of Ryan Reaves to Toronto after the former Maple Leaf was traded to the Sharks this summer. Reaves’ exit from the city came after he spoked candidly about feeling the team ‘lacked trust’ in his game last season, leading to limited playing time and an AHL stint.

Speaking after morning skate on Thursday, head coach Craig Berube touched on Reaves’ return to Toronto. Despite Reaves’ messy departure from the team, Berube said he ultimately has a lot of respect and love for the veteran.

“I’ve known Reavo for a long time,” Berube said. “I think Reavo’s had a great career, in terms of what he does and his role as a player. You know, things happen, that’s just the way the game goes. You get a little older, get towards the end of your career. I went through it, I understand totally where he’s at and what he thinks. It’s all good, I love Reavo.”

As the Maple Leafs take on the Sharks, one of the top stories is sure to be the team’s ability (or inability) to convert on the power play. So far this season, Toronto has the worst man advantage unit in the league, with a dismal 13.7% efficiency. Having had a couple days at home since their last game on Monday, Berube said the team has now benefited from some extra special teams work, which they’ll look to show off through this weekend.

“It helps for sure to work on it,” he said. “It was unfortunate Morgan (Rielly) couldn’t be out there. But the touches, the feel of the puck against the penalty kill for a significant amount of time at practice, it does help for sure.”

Rielly missed practice Wednesday due to illness, but on the injury front, Berube came in with some updates on Thursday. Defenceman Chris Tanev has been out since early in the season, and underwent another evaluation this week, with results still pending. That being said, while there have been rumours floating around about Tanev needing surgery, Berube quieted that narrative for the time being.

“I don’t believe that’s going to be an option right now, so just be patient and wait for the results,” Berube said.

In between the pipes, Joseph Woll continues to progress well after suffering a lower-body injury last week. Per Berube, he may practice on Friday and could still be on track for a return Saturday night.

“Yeah, he’s doing well,” Berube said. “He had a good day yesterday, so I expect the same today. We’ll see.”

In Woll’s absence, Dennis Hildeby will continue to carry the crease on Thursday night. Puck drops at 7 pm from Scotiabank Arena.