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Ryan Reaves Reveals New Perspective on Longtime Rival Tom Wilson After Wedding Encounter

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Jack Sutherland | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 9:26 AM ET

NHL enforcer Ryan Reaves, currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has revealed that he now thinks differently of his longtime enforcer rival in Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson after an encounter at Chandler Stephenson's wedding.

Over the years, NHL enforcers have been known to have personal rivalries with one another.

That can be said about Ryan Reaves, who has played for multiple teams in his career and is currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, and Tom Wilson, who has played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals.

The two of them met one another in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, which Wilson and the Capitals won in 5 games to capture the team's 1st and only Stanley Cup win to date.

And while they've had their physical battles over the years, Reaves is suddenly changing his tune on Wilson.

Both players, who attended the wedding of former Golden Knights/Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson, got better acquainted with one another.

While guest appearing on the 'Cam & Strick' podcast, Reaves said that he thinks Wilson is a great guy.

Willy's a great player. We've had our differences on ice but I've met him off ice, he's a great guy He's a great player.

It plays into comments that Reaves made in 2020 about Wilson, saying that they likely would be friends had they played on the same team.

It's a small world, the hockey world, I think there's definitely a mutual understanding there that if he was on my team we'd probably be pals.

Right now, the future of Reaves in the NHL remains up in the air after he was waived by the Maple Leafs and later played only 3 games with their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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