A former St. Louis Blues legend has hung up his skates. With 16 years of NHL hockey under his belt across 7 different teams, including nearly half his career in the Blue Note, 39-year-old Ryan Reaves, who last played for the San Jose Sharks in 2025/26, officially announced his retirement after 962 career games. He totaled 66 goals and 74 assists for 140 points.
However, most will remember him for his penalty minutes total, as his 1137 PIM puts him 13th in franchise history. Reaves had several high-profile moments while in St. Louis after being drafted in the 5th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, though he wouldn't make his NHL debut until the 2010/11 season, after he'd spent considerable time with his amateur team, the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, and the Blues' AHL affiliate at the time, the now-defunct Peoria Rivermen of the ECHL.
Here's a detailed look at Reaves' best moments in a Blues sweater.
February 4, 2012: Heavyweight tilt with Nashville's Brian McGrattan
One of Reaves' earliest notable fights was this clash of titans in Nashville during Reaves' 2nd NHL season. Already weighing in at 6'2 and 230 pounds, Reaves squared off against the Preds' own enforcer, who stood an imposing 6'5 and 240 pounds. Not a noted difference, but anytime two players of that kind of stature start throwing hands, you can expect it to be heavy and brutal. Reaves unfortunately lost this bout, but it was still a fun watch for the fans in attendance that day. The experience may have been a bit of a factor, as it was McGrattan's 7th compared to Reaves' 2nd. McGrattan actually played just 2 more seasons after that, so maybe Reaves did more of a number on the then 30-year-old. Pretty impressive for a 25-year-old holding his own against someone 5 years his elder.
May 3, 2016: Demolishing Dallas' Curtis McKenzie
Game 3 of the Blues' 2016 2nd-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars saw the Blues come away with a 6-1 win at home en route to a Game 7 series win in Dallas, but the score wasn't the only highlight of the night. With about 3 minutes left in regulation, Dallas' Stephon Johns delivered a dangerous hit on Blues star Alex Pietrangelo, triggering a melee that eventually turned into a one-on-one fight between Reaves and Dallas' Curtis McKenzie. It didn't last long, especially after Reaves quickly put McKenzie down with a few well-placed rights. Reaves was already known for being a perennial enforcer, a player who doesn't score a lot but racks up the most numbers in fight minutes. McKenzie found himself completely outmatched against Reaves, making this tilt fairly lopsided. Even better, Reaves blew a little kiss to the Dallas bench before heading for the locker room. The Blues would lose the next home game in Game 4 at the then named Scottrade Center, but won 2 of the final 3 games to move on to the Western Conference final, where they were defeated by the San Jose Sharks in 6 games.
Those 2 bouts are just a couple of notable examples of how many fights Reaves took part in. Over his 16-year career with 7 teams, Reaves fought other fellow enforcers, like future All-Star Game mythic hero John Scott, Winnipeg's Anthony Peluso, and Los Angeles' Kyle Clifford. His last two most important fights came against the Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier, the first on January 22, 2025, when Reaves was with Toronto, and the next, last January, when Reaves was in his final NHL season with San Jose. Like Nashville, Reaves was a bit outmatched in both bouts, but he was 38 years old at the time of both, while Olivier was 28. That's actually very impressive, as someone 10 years younger fighting one of the league's premier enforcers and winning, especially in their first clash in Toronto.
Ryan Reaves had many iconic moments with the Blues and a handful of other teams during his 16-year career, which is quite an accomplishment for an enforcer. Most enforcers, on average, play only 3 or 4 seasons total, and Reaves' career quadrupled that average.
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