“I hope he tries”: New Leafs enforcer Reaves has badass response to Gudas question

As the Florida Panthers scored the goal that eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime of Game 5 of this year’s playoffs, defenceman Radko Gudas infamously screamed directly in goaltender Joseph Woll’s face.

That and some of the Czech blueliner’s other antics made Gudas a playoff villain among Leafs fans this past spring.

Now, newly acquired Toronto enforcer Ryan Reaves says there’s a fat chance something like that would occur again — at least while he’s on the ice.

“I hope [Gudas] tries that. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?” Reaves said at the team’s annual golf tournament on Monday. “I doubt there’s gonna be any of that here.”

At 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, Reaves, known to drop the gloves regularly, is undoubtedly one of the most intimidating players in the league. With that said, he also claims to be quite eccentric in the locker room.

“I’m pretty loud. It’s not going to be a quiet room anymore, I’ll tell you that much,” Reaves said to reporters on Monday. “I come in pretty hot. I tend to just chirp people right away and just gauge their reaction. I don’t really shy into it.”

The 36-year-old, who signed a three-year, $4.05 million contract this summer, is not the only feisty addition the Leafs have made over the offseason, though. They’ve also brought on forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi via free agency.

“Maybe something this team’s been missing is a little bit of grit over the last couple of years,” Reaves explained. “And I think those guys fit the mould of what we need here.”

Despite being one-of-a-kind, the veteran ultimately shares the same goal that his new teammates do.

“A chance to win a Cup, that’s why I came here,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time. I just want to be here for when it happens.”