Ryan Reaves hit on Filip Hronek in Wild-Red Wings splits NHL Twitter in two

Ryan Reaves is no stranger to controversial hits. The Wild winger has been suspended three times in his NHL career, and one of his most famous plays was when he took a match penalty in the 2021 playoffs for kneeing Ryan Graves in the face.

With that in mind, every big Reaves hit is going to create controversy. Wednesday against the Red Wings, Reaves added another one to his portfolio by leveling the Red Wings’ Filip Hronek in open ice.

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The 6-1, 225-pound Reaves was standing tall when he took out the hunched-over Hronek; because of that, it looked as if Hronek’s face took a good amount of the contact.

The hit raised the question of how much a check can be the recipient’s fault, as Hronek seemed completely unaware of Reaves while coasting into the neutral zone. Reaves, for his part, seemed to sturdy up, but he didn’t exactly charge into Hronek.

NHL Twitter was divided on who was to blame. All it knew for certain was that it was an absolute shot.

One of the NHL’s most notorious enforcers, a former Red Wing, also weighed in on the debate.

Reaves had more for the Wings later on:

All of the hitting in the game left a Stars legend having some thoughts:

While Reaves didn’t receive a penalty for the hit on Hronek, Hronek was knocked out of the game. The Red Wings later confirmed he was out for the night.

The NHL office can level discipline against Reaves despite no call being made on the ice and Hronek lacking awareness.

In the meantime, the Red Wings will be without yet another player, adding to their already-lengthy injury report.