The Ryan Reaves-era of the Toronto Maple Leafs has come to an end.
The Maple Leafs announced on Thursday evening that they've traded the veteran forward to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Henry Thrun. The 24-year-old defenseman played 60 games for the Sharks last season, averaging 17:31 of ice time and scoring two goals and 10 assists.
The trade frees the Maple Leafs of Reaves' $1.35 million salary while adding Thrun, who's in the final year of his contract, which has a $1 million annual average value. Toronto is saving $350,000 by acquiring Thrun for Reaves, and avoiding having to bury $200,000 in the minors had Reaves started the season in the AHL.
According to PuckPedia, the Maple Leafs now has $5.33 million in cap space available.
Questions rose about Reaves' future with Toronto after the forward joined the Cam & Strick Podcast with Andy Strickland and Cam Janssen and said he had wanted to hit the 1,000 game mark before he retires. The 38-year-old—only playing in 35 games with the Maple Leafs last season—is 88 games from the milestone.
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With the Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup aspirations and Reaves' enforcer play style, it just didn't appear there was a fit anymore. Reaves' tenure with Toronto comes to an end after playing 84 games with the club and scoring four goals and four assists in that span.
Toronto, in return, gets a younger defender who is still trying to find his way at the NHL level.
Thrun, a fourth-round (101 overall) pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, has appeared in 119 NHL games, all with the Sharks. In his final two seasons at Harvard University, Thrun scored at nearly a point-per-game pace (63 points in 68 games), but hasn't found that level in pro yet.
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He's registered five goals and 20 assists while averaging 18:44 of ice time over three seasons with the Sharks.
Believe it or not, the defenseman's first NHL goal came against the Maple Leafs on Jan. 9, 2024. It was San Jose's only goal in a 7-1 loss to Toronto. Given he's still young, Toronto could look to have him work with the organization's development staff, which could help his game progress at the pro level.
Thrun will be a restricted free agent after this season.
(Top photo of Thrun: Robert Edwards / Imagn Images)