NHL tough guy faces hearing for injury-causing hit to the head

Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Ryan Reaves was kicked out of Saturday night’s game and is looking at a suspension for a hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

Reaves received a match penalty when he caught Nurse in the head with his shoulder in the second period. The defenseman was bloodied on the play and was tended to by a trainer for several minutes before he left the game.

The Oilers announced that Nurse wouldn’t return because of an upper-body injury.

A video review upheld the call against Reaves. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety said Reaves would have a disciplinary hearing Sunday for an illegal check to the head.

Reaves has been suspended three times in his career for a total of six games, including one games for an illegal hit to the head in the 2020 playoffs.

His most recent suspension was in the 2021 playoffs when Reaves, then with the Vegas Golden Knights, used his body weight to hold down an opponent on the ice during a scrum and ripped off his helmet. ‘During this scrum, both the officials and Reaves acknowledge that a chunk of Graves’ hair was pulled out by Reaves,’ the league said at the time when suspending him for two games.

He also was suspended for three games in 2016 for boarding.

The Maple Leafs killed off the five-minute penalty to Reaves and won the game 4-3 in overtime.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)